Hinata's Confidence
by Kazukagi
Summary: Hinata's lack of confidence is causing her to fail missions, so she's sent on a mission for an entire month to build up confidence. The catch, her partner is none other than Naruto! It's time for Hinata to gain the best confidence booster, Naruto's love.
1. Chapter 1: The Choice is Obvious

Disclaimer: I, the author of this work of fiction, hold no claims to any an all references, names, places, Ideas or objects that belong to their respective owners. This is a no-profit work of fiction, based of the works of Naruto, owned by Masashi Kishimoto. This is for entertainment purposes only, and the Original Ideas are the property of the author. Please do not distribute, duplicate or in any way use in any form without consent of the author.

**A/N: Hey all! And welcome to my first 90 pure Naru/Hina fiction! This story is AU, and takes place after the time skip. Also, It contains hints of the following pairings; ShikaTem, NejiTen. Hope you all like it! **

Chapter 1: The Choice is Obvious

Shino and Kiba stood in Hokage's office once again. It seemed like after every mission they were asked to stay behind after Hinata had left. Of course, they weren't mad at all. Quite the contrary. Hinata was their friend, and they were happy to defend her. The Godaime entered, flashing each a cold glare before sitting behind her desk, staring down Shino and Kiba. Kiba was having a hard time figuring out if the look in the Godaime's eyes was anger or disappointment. Shino didn't look, since he didn't care..

"So...you failed another mission. And once again, it seems that it was Hinata's fault. Is that true?"

Kiba opened his mouth as to formulate a sentence, but his mind had yet to form the words, and so no sound came out. Shino cleared his throat, looking up at Tsunade. He already had this conversation mapped out.

"Yes Godaime. However I do not believe that it is of any concern."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Not of any concern? This is the 5th time Shino. The 5th. I need to take some course of action!"

Shino pushed up his glasses passively.

"And what..._action..._are you planning to take?"

A tone in Shino's voice, made Tsunade shiver slightly. He was good at that. Shinzune stepped in.

"Shino-kun...please listen. Hinata is already a chunin yet her abilities are-"

"Are just not up to standards." Tsunade interjected.

Shino raised an eyebrow.

"_Her Skills? _No, that's not it. Hinata-chan has plenty of skill. What she lacks is-"

It was Kiba's turn to speak, he had finally found the words.

"Confidence. She's strong, hell Neji spars with her, but she just doesn't believe in herself. Always second guessing, always saying 'mabey' and 'I don't think I can...' As a result..."

Tsunade nodded.

"Yes, I see. So it's not a question of skill, it's a matter of self respect. Sigh...well that's not nearly as easy..."

Shino stood up.

"If that's all you need Godaime, then I will depart."

Kiba followed suit, and both left the room. Tsunade turned to Shinzune, here eyes calculating.

"Damn...this won't be easy. Have any suggestions on how to raise her confidence?"

"Well I don't-"

Shinzune's eyes caught a name on the Active Ninja list, a certain name caught her eye, and they were returning this very day. A giant smile spread across her face.

"Yes, I do have one..."

Hinata felt miserable. She was trudging slowly towards her home, head hung and feet dragging. Hinata had stopped by Ichiraku to watch Naruto eat, but he hadn't been there, only dragging Hinata's spirits down lower. Also, Ino had tried once to engage Hinata in conversation, but was met with silence. Hinata didn't feel like doing anything, she just wanted to go home and lie in bed. Hinata approached the Hyuga Manor gates while Neji walked past, his travel pack on his shoulder. Apparently he was headed out for a mission.

"Hinata...Uncle is upset with you over your last mission."

Hinata lifted her head a bit, looking into Neji's eyes.

"An informant told him that is was your fault that the mission was a failure, so be careful."

Hinata gave a small nod, dragging herself forward towards the house. Neji looked back, but Tenten came up behind him.

"Hey Neji, Ready to go?"

Neji nodded, still looking back to where his cousin once stood.

"Is something wrong?"

Neji sighed heavily before composing himself.

"No, nothing. Let us be off."

As the two left, Neji closed his eyes.

"_Somebody really needs to boost that girls confidence..."_

Hinata walked down the hallway to her room, making sure not to make a sound. About half way to her room a beckon of "Hyuga Hinata, enter at once," rang out from the tea room. She had been afraid of this, Her Father was going to punish her. No matter how much she wanted to just run into her room and lock the door, she knew she had to fess up, so she walked back down the hall and into the tea room, only to be met with a cold gaze from her father.

"Sit down and explain yourself."

Hinata sat down as she was told too, taking a sip from the tea that had been placed before her. She knew that, eventually, she would have to explain her blunder, but she was going to stall for as long as possible.

"W-What do you mean father?"

Hiashi, as a Hyuga, had total control of his emotions. Even so, the gaze given to his daughter contained a hint of venomous anger, shaking Hinata to the core.

"Don't even think of trying to stall for time Hyuga Hinata, now as I said before, explain yourself."

Hinata began to shake, clutching her knees with her hands.

"I..I just...I couldn't stop thinking that I would fail...or make a mistake and...and I..."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow.

"And so you completely failed the mission because you were _wondering _if you would fail? Where is your confidence?! You are a Hyuga, and if you continue to doubt yourself in this way, you shall shame us all! God knows how much shame you've brought on us already. This makes five missions in a row Hinata!"

Hinata hung her head, tears stinging her eyes, threatening to come gushing forth.

"I...I'm sorry father. I promise...I won't..."

Hiashi waved a hand.

"Leave now. And remember this. If I hear that you fail another mission because you've doubted yourself, be sure that I will personally pick you up and _throw _you out of this Manor! Now be gone."

Hinata, all too happy to leave, stood up perhaps rather too quickly and left the room. She walked for a few feet, but when she was out of eye shot Hinata ran from the house, tears now flowing from her eyes. From the gates to the dirt path up to her house she ran all the way down to her favorite training grounds. Her form quivering, she walked to the center of the field and fell down into the grass face first. There she lie, face in the grass, sobbing quietly to herself.

"Gah!!! Kage Bushin no Jutsu!!"

Hinata's head suddenly perked up, looking over towards the source of the sound.

"_T-That voice is-!!"_

Suddenly a Naruto clone fell from the sky, crashing to the ground and disappearing with a loud "poof!" A few more clones and the real Naruto hit the ground, as did Rock Lee. The group of clones continued to throw punches of all kinds and dodge their opponent's. After a few well aimed kicks, All that was left was Rock Lee and Naruto, staring each other down.. Both ran forward, disappearing in a flash and appearing a few yards away, both with a fist in contact with the other's cheek. The two skidded way from one another, big smiles on their faces.

"Hah...hah...not bad...Fuzzy Brows...hah..."

"hah...Same to you...Naruto-kun! Your taijutsu, hah...has improved, however..."

Rock Lee was gone in a flash, and almost instantly a leg appeared out of nowhere, slashing rapidly towards Naruto's head. It connected, and the head "poofed" out of existence.

"W-What!?"

Naruto came up from behind, delivering a powerful kick to Rock Lee's lower back. Naruto than grasped Rock Lee's shoulder and slammed a powerful chakra coated fist into his stomach, sending the Green Beast crumpling on the ground.

"Heh, however what!?"

Rock Lee sputtered, huffing like mad.

"Very impressive...Naruto-kun."

With that, Rock Lee fell to the ground. Naruto jumped up into the air.

"Ha ha, alright!! Now the score is 45 to 44, I'm back in the lead baby!!"

Hinata was only a few feet away, still lying on the ground.

"_Dammit Hinata, say something to him!! Stop being so timid and just SAY SOMETHING!!"_

"T-That was...that w-was very..im-impressive N-Naruto-kun."

Naruto stopped jumping up and down, turning his attention to the girl on the ground. His eyes widened in surprise, but soon his face was lined with his trademark smile.

"Oh, thanks Hinata! Sorry, I didn't see you there!"

Naruto stopped rubbing the back of his head, narrowing his eyes to look at Hinata.

"...Hey, Hinata, have you been crying?"

Hinata gasped, putting a hand to her face. Sure enough, there were still some tears in her eye. As she was finding the words to explain, Naruto knelt down, wiping the tears from her eye.

"You were...what were you crying about Hinata?"

Hinata turned beet red. The prospect of Naruto not only being this close to her, but the fact that he had just touched her face, wiped away her tear...

"I...I-!!

With that, Hinata promptly fainted.

Naruto gasped, catching her limp form.

"Ah! Hinata! Hinata! Damn, she's gone and fainted..."

"Ah, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto turned to see a runner heading towards him. He stopped a few feet away from Naruto, huffing.

"Ah...and Hinata Hyuga as well, perfect. You two have been summoned by the Hokage."

Naruto stood up, laying Hinata carefully on the ground.

"Did she say why?"

The runner shook his head.

"The Hokage did not give me such information. However she wants you there post haste."

Naruto nodded, picking up Hinata bridal style, no clue that this act could be easily interprited the wrong way. The messenger gave Hinata an uneasy look, turning to Naruto.

"Um...is she alright?"

Naruto gave the man a weak smile.

"Yeah, it happens all the time. Don't worry."

With that, Naruto headed off towards the Hokage's office, Hinata's form in his arms.

Tsunade reclined back into her chair, smiling wide. Her assistant had proved quite resourceful.

"I must say Shinzune, you're a genius! Never would I have come up with such an obvious plan."

Shinzune was smiling herself, pleased at Tsunade's praise.

"Thank you Godaime. I'm just glad we can get this resolved."

Tsunade nodded.

"Yes, so am I. Now that we have it all worked out. I've picked a location where, despite the objective, they're bound to run into more danger than they'll think."

"Should we tell Naruto? You know...about the real objective of this mission?"

Tsunade waved a dismissive hand.

"Nope. If we do, he'll get nervous, and suck at what he does best. We'll leave it alone and let him do his thing. Besides, he has an effect just be being near her."

"Yes, that's true."

Tsunade laughed.

"It'll all work out for the best, I'm sure they'll do fine!"

A knock was issued from the door, and a chunin poked his head in.

"Godaime? Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga are here to see you."

Tsunade laughed.

"Just who we were talking about, send them in."

The chunin nodded, and in came Naruto and Hinata, the latter of whom had a major blush (Having just found out Naruto had carried her bridal style across town, Hinata was still in shock...)

"Hey, Tsunade-baachan! Why did you call me here? I just got off mission a few hours ago! I love a challenge, but I haven't even had time to grab some ramen!!"

Tsunade laughed, throwing Naruto off his stride.

"Yes, yes I know Naruto. That's exactly why I picked this mission for you. It's relatively easy-going, and since you've been swamped with missions day in and day out, I thought you might like it. As for you Hinata..."

Hinata looked up towards Tsunade, averting her eyes.

"You need to unwind, take a small break. And since this mission only requires two people, I thought it would be perfect for the both of you!"

Naruto laughed to himself, giving Tsunade a thumbs up.

"Alright! So what's this mission you've got for us?" 

Tsunade cleared her throat, grabbing a file from her desk.

"There's a small village on the boarder of the Lands of Fire and Earth called Tenchiku. It's quite small, a population well below 1,000. Lately, they've been under attack from bandits. They have no idea where their base is located, so they've requested two shinobi to work under cover as guards and defend from bandits, and draw out their leader. They've requested assistance for one month. So, here is your mission. You are to head to Tenchiku by the morning tomorrow. When you arrive, tell them who you are, and they will give you a house, money, all that. You are to live there for one month and fend off any bandits and, if possible, find their leader. Understood?

Naruto nodded, but Hinata was flipping out.

"_W-What!? A month! A month alone with Naruto-kun! I'm...I'm so happy but...Oh no, can I do it!? I can't even go 10 minutes without fainting in front of him...how will I last a month!?!"_

Hinata was snapped out of her panic by a warm hand on her shoulder.

"What do you think Hinata? We're totally going to blow this mission out of the water, right!?"

Hinata smiled, Naruto's embracing hand, his warm, confident voice, they had their affect on her.

"Yes, let's do our best!"

Naruto smiled.

"Yeah! Alright Hinata, let's go get some ramen and discuss the mission. I haven't had ramen in a week! Ah well, I'll just eat one bowl for every day I was gone. Oh, and I guess I have to eat a bowl for every day I'll be gone during this mission. And I'll also have to..."

As Naruto, his arm around a very red in the face Hinata, walked away, Tsunade smiled.

"See Shinzune? Your plan's already working, and it's only been a few minutes! Everything'll go fine!

Shinzune nodded.

"Yes, I hope so..."

**That's it for chapter 1. Please review, this is my first pure NaruHina fic. **


	2. No Talk's Complete Without Ramen!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. I make no profit.

**A/N: Chapter two! I've fallen in love with this one, and it's hard to pry away to write up Legacy 2! At any rate, enjoy.  
**

Chapter 2: No talk's complete without Ramen

Shikamaru let out an exasperated sigh as he set aside what seemed to be the millionth paper that day. He leaned back in his chair, eyes flickering between clouds in the sky visible out his window. This came to a quick stop when he was met full force by a book smashing into his chest. Shikamaru keeled over, huffing for a few moments before getting upright in his chair.

"Troublesome women..."

Temari gave him a glare.

"You're calling me troublesome!? That's the 5th time this HOUR you've gone off task! When Tsunade told me my mission was to stop my boyfriend from dozing of during his paperwork, I didn't know it was actually going to be this hard! Now get back to work you lazy bastard!!"

Shikamaru began to mumble something about how troublesome she was, but Temari took no notice, going back to reading.

Shikamaru flicked through the papers, looking over all the missions assigned that day. As a brilliant strategist, Tsunade had ordered him to look over the missions and shinobi assigned to them, and offer comments on how the mission should be gone about. It was quite dull, not a single mission was mismatched, Tsunade knew her stuff. Shikamaru absently browsed over the papers, nothing was even worth his signa-...well, well, this is interesting... As he looked over the paper, Shikamaru addressed Temari, not even looking up.

"Can you go get Sakura for me?"

Temari looked up at the lazy bastard.

"And why should I do that?"

"Two reasons. One, I don't know where she is, and I need to tell her something, Two, I can't leave my post, I need to keep working, _right?_"

Temari almost snarled. She hated how he could just turn anything against her with that brilliant brain of his.

"Fine, Fine, I'll go get her, but you better keep working!!"

"Yeah yeah..."

Temari departed the room, leaving Shikamaru alone to his work. Well, to his not-work. More like to his reclining in his chair. Hey, the worst that could happen is that she'd slap him, not much more...

"How troublesome. I mean sure, she did pay me a good amount, but why that pink haired busybody wants to know these things...it's beyond me."

Shikamaru faced the clouds once more, letting all else drift away...WHAM!!

Shikamaru got hit hard in the face with another book, this one with a little killing intent left over in the blow. Temari stood in the doorway, Sakura next to her, her arm in an after throw stance and her face red with fury.

"Shikamaru..."

Shikamaru got up, rubbing his cheek, and waved Sakura in, paying no mind to Temari.

"Ok, so I was looking through some missions, and one of the pairs on your list is going on a mission together."

Sakura's face turned from curious to down right sinister.

"Really...who would that be?"

Shikamaru found the paper on his desk.

"Naruto and Hinata. Check the mission, I'm sure it'll serve whatever you intend to do...I think."

Sakura's eyes grew wider as she scanned each line.

"A month!! And she leaves tomorrow!? Crap I only have a few hours to prep her!! Thanks Shikamaru I need to go!!"

Sakura was out the door faster than what Shikamaru thought possible, a stream of papers flying up from the desk in her wake. Shikamaru laughed, getting up from the desk to leave. Temari put a hand over his chest, and turned her head slowly towards him

"And just WHERE do you think you're going?"

Shikamaru shrugged.

"Cloud watching I guess."

"Oh no, you're staying here and doing your damn work!"

Shikamaru sighed.

"I guess it was worth a try..."

"WORK!!!"

"Ok, ok geeze. Troublesome women..."

XxX

If one were to observe Naruto walking Hinata through the Konoha streets, you would not think that it was two teenagers. It would look like a teenage boy pulling along an elongated tomato dressed up clothing. To any bystanders, the sight was quite amusing. To add to the comedy of it all, Naruto was still rambling on and on, oblivious to Hinata's plight, while Hinata hadn't said a single word. She had been quite happy with being dragged along, since it was taking all her will power no to faint right there. Naruto seemed to not notice the color of Hinata's face until they reached Ichiraku ramen, where when he sat down, Naruto saw Hinata's face for the first time since they had departed.

"Woah! Hinata do you have a fever...like, a big one?"

Hinata cursed herself for her inability to keep the blush in check.

"N-No Naruto-kun. I'm fine."

Naruto put a hand to Hinata's forehead, raising an eyebrow.

"You sure? Cause you're face is really warm Hinata. I don't want you to be sick on the mission!"

Hinata couldn't say a word, one ounce of power spared to talk would cause her to lose control and faint on the spot. Ayame seemed to notice this and decided, after a fare bit of amusement, to end Hinata's pain.

"So Naruto, what'll it be today?"

Naruto turned suddenly, his stomach now running his mind.

"Yo! Give me a large bowl of Miso Pork ramen and keep it coming!"

"And how about you young lady?"

Hinata managed to squeak out "Miso for me..." just loud enough for Ayame to hear. Naruto took notice of the low volume.

"Hmm, give her some extra noodles! Hinata needs to boost her strength for the big mission, right!?"

Hinata nodded slightly, her gaze cast downward.

"_Oh who am I kidding? I can't even spend a few minutes to eat lunch with him without almost passing out, how am I going to survive a month?"_

Naruto's shot the breeze with the old man that ran the place, though Hinata didn't know his name.

"_Oh!!! Come on Hinata, be brave! You need to talk to him. Once, just once, hold a conversation and mabey you can--"_

"Say..Hinata."

Hinata's line of thought was cut short by Naruto's voice. She immediately stammered out a response.

"Y-Yes Naruto-kun?"

"What was all that stuff Tsunade was saying about how you needed this mission or something like that?"

Hinata gasped a bit, but lowered her gaze, pushing her two index fingers together.

"W-Well, the Hokage thought I N-Needed an easy mission...I...I sorta failed...the last f-five..."

Naruto looked at Hinata with a new intensity, causing her blush to resurface.

"What!? How could that happen? You're way strong Hinata! There's no way you can fail like that! Was it someone else? I know Shino's capable, was it Kiba? I swear if he's screwing up and making you take the blame I'm gonna-!!"

"N-No Naruto-kun. Nothing like that! I-It's my fault. I-I just keep think that I'm going to f-fail and...and I..."

Naruto lifted Hinata's chin, so that he was staring into her eyes. His face was serious, but hints of comfort were also evident in his eyes.

"Hey, don't you dare think like that. You're strong, and you can't fail. You're so amazing, so why can't you believe in yourself? Kiba believes in you, Shino believes in you, Kurenai believes in you, Tsunade believes in you, hell even Neji believes in you, even if he doesn't like to show it. Also, I believe in you. So believe in yourself, we'll blow this mission out of the water, and that'll be that. Ok?"

Hinata felt her spirits lifted, as though a great weight thrust apon her had suddenly been taken away. She felt relieved.

"_Naruto-kun believes in me!"_

"Y-Yes, We'll be victorious!"

As his order came up, Naruto laughed.

"Then don't go back on you're word...ah, my ramen!"

Naruto began to dig into his first bowl, finishing it in what seemed seconds. Teuchi however, had come prepared. He placed another bowl down, and then another. By the time Naruto had finished his seventh bowl, Hinata had finished her first. As the pair ate, Naruto occasionally talked between mouthfuls, though his words were slurred and garbled by the large quantities of ramen. Hinata found his unbelievably funny, and her laughter contributed to her slow eating. Naruto was about to move on to his 14th when Sakura came running into the stand.

"So THIS is where you are Hinata! Come on, we need to talk."

Hinata hesitated, she didn't want to leave Naruto.

"Um...do I have to?"

"Yes!!! Now come on! Bye Naruto!!"

Naruto barely managed a wave before Sakura bolted out of Ichiraku, Hinata in tow.

As the two girls left, Teuchi looked back to Naruto.

"Wow, what was her hurry?"

Naruto shrugged.

"Beats me, she didn't even stop to make fun of the fact that me and Hinata were together in the same place. Normally If I just pass Hinata in the street and wave Sakura starts to tease me..."

Teuchi laughed.

"I wonder why she does that?"

Naruto sighed.

"Yeah, me too..."

Teuchi rolled his eyes.

XxX

As the citizens of Konoha went about their everyday business, a few were thrown sideways from the streets as a massive dust cloud came streaming down the road. If one were to look closely at said cloud, they would happen to see a flash of pink, if only for a second. This mentioned flash of pink made its way to an apartment on on the south west side of the city, pushing a very pale blur into the door before slamming it shut. The pink haired girl in question then turned around, giving Hinata her mischievous smile. Hinata shuddered.

"_I know that smile. She's up to something, I know it..."_

Sakura sat Hinata down on the couch, offering her some water and then sitting down next to her.

"So, Hinata...I hear you're going on a mission with Naruto..."

Hinata gulped, nodding slightly.

"Y-yes..."

"Well that's good news for you, Hinata!"

Hinata tried to look innocent.

"H-How so Sakura?"

Sakura gave a half smile

"Well you know...you...well you...ok, look! I know you haven't officially announced it to the group yet but...we know you like Naruto...a lot. And we've known for around a year now."

Hinata gave a blush, poking two fingers together.

"Was...was it really that...obvious?"

Sakura shrugged.

"Well, you always faint around him. We knew that meant one of two things. You liked him, or you thought he was repulsive. We defaulted to the second one out of common sense, but then...we noticed other things."

Hinata put her head down.

"L-Like what?"

"Like how you look at him constantly, or how you blush every time he speaks. How giggle at everything he does, how his very presence inspires you to do better...it was pretty obvious after a bit of study."

Hinata nodded.

"I see...so...what are you planning to...to do?"

Sakura gave another evil grin.

"Why, I'm just going to help you a bit..."

"You...I mean you're not going to...play..._match-maker?_"

Sakura fell into uncontrollable giggles.

"What!? No! You guys are already the cutest, most perfect couple ever, I don't even have to try! I'm giving you a different type of help."

Hinata gave a low nod.

"O-Ok. What...what is it?"

Sakura put her arm around Hinata's shoulder.

"Naruto training. I'm going to teach you how to get him to notice you, how to hold a conversation with him and, the most important thing of all, how to not faint around him!"

Hinata's face instantly lit up.

"Really!?"

Sakura nodded.

"Oh yeah! When I'm through with you, you'll be a Naruto magnet!"

Hinata beamed, throwing her arms around Sakura.

"Oh Sakura, you're the best!"

Sakura laughed.

"I know I am. Now come on, we've got work to do!"

XxX

A final star to mark the night blinked into existence, set against the black sky filled with the slivers of a young moon. The night was well on, and most would now be fast asleep. Of those who were not among the land of dreams, Naruto was one. He lay in his bed, his clear blue eyes fixed on the crystal necklace gripped in his hand. Naruto felt strange, he felt uneasy.

"Hey...hey, Kyubi."

Within Naruto roused a presence, weak at first, then strong, a weight growing in Naruto's stomach.

"**Dumb Kit. What the hell do you want?"**

"Stupid fox. I just wanted to ask if you felt the same as I do."

"**Feel what? Annoyed?"**

"No. More like...like a sense of uneasiness. Like somethings coming, and I'm going to have to face it."

"**That? Yeah, of course I feel it you idiot, my feeling are tied to yours."**

Naruto stared back into the crystal.

"Why do I feel a sense of foreboding? Does it have to do with the mission?"

"**Don't know, don't care. I'm going back to sleep. Call me when you're too weak to kill something, I'll do it."**

Naruto cursed.

"Bastard..."

A sudden wave of exhaustion hit him, and Naruto lay back on the bed, the crystal now around his neck. Before he fell asleep, Naruto smiled.

"Meh. Whatever danger comes, I'll face it head on! After all, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage!"

As Naruto slept, he dreamed of himself and Hinata. They were sitting down on the grass, eating Hinata's delicious cooking, talking, laughing. It was a peaceful environment, and all the light in the sky seemed dull compared to the intense light Hinata gave off her form.

When Naruto's mind was roused from land of his dreams, he would find no memory of having such a dream...

**This is a Fic where I can let my imagination run wild, and also, It can be full of NaruHina fluff! I like writing for Hinata, and I like the role she plays in this story. At any rate, I'll update soon, so Read and Review!**


	3. Cluelessness, Annoyances and Trust

Disclaimer: Me do not own Naruto, Check chapter 1 for full disclaimer which applies to all chapters

**A/N: Most of the notes are at the bottom, be sure to read as some things in the story may confuse the reader. Enjoy chapter 3.**

Chapter 3: The Clueless, The Annoyed, and The Trusting

Sakura groaned loudly, falling back onto the pink armchair behind her. She laid back, rubbing her temples with strong strokes of the fingers. Never had she thought that training Hinata would be this hard. I mean, she just didn't get it! Sakura had long since done this for all her other friends! She had trained Tenten to be a bit more pushy with Neji, and it worked to an extent, he now took to hanging out with her off of missions and the sparing field. She had trained Ino to get through to Choji, which worked, they were now dating. Same with Temari, who she had trained to be a little more forward and a bit, just a bit less of a bitch. She had trained all of them when the time was right, so it should have been easy to train Hinata, right?

Wrong. Very, very wrong.

Hinata sat in the middle of the room, tapping her fingers together and blushing quite madly.

"I-I'm sorry Sakura, it's just...It's hard to talk to Naruto...even if you're just transforming into him...I just can't do it without..."

Sakura let out another groan, flopping over onto her stomach, now facing Hinata.

"Sorry Hinata, it's just frustrating. With all the others, by now they could hold a calm, yet slightly seductive conversation with the boy they liked, and while he was freaking NAKED! But you...you can't even talk to him after all this time while he's still clothed!"

Hinata cast her gaze to the floor.

"I'm sorry Sakura..."

Sakura sighed, standing up and looking Hinata over.

"Well we've made major improvements on your fainting issue. You used to faint just by seeing his face, now only strong physical contact like a hug will trigger that. If only we could get rid of your damn blush..."

Hinata looked to the side.

"B-But...Tenten and the others...they say my blush is...is cute..."

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I forget, who's the love expert? And besides, I don't think Naruto would catch up on that."

Hinata dropped her head.

"Oh...I see..."

Sakura got a sly smile

"But, if you really want to know...you could always ask Naruto..."

Hinata went ridged, her face now illuminating with red. Sakura jumped down quickly.

"Easy Hinata, easy. Take a deep breath, yeah that's it, now just slowly, slowly try to manipulate your chakra to eliminate the blush and bring some of that blood to your head. Yeah, that's it, good."

Hinata sighed, turning away from Sakura.

"It's hopeless. There's now way I'll be able to spend a month with Naruto-kun, I can't even talk to a transformed you."

Sakura sighed, sitting down next to Hinata and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Well, if all else fails...I guess you could...I don't know...try being...yourself?"

Sakura seemed pained by having to say these words and shivered slightly when her sentence was done. Hinata gave Sakura a puzzled look. Sakura saw it, and got serious once again.

"What I mean is, don't faint or anything but...so what if you blush? You see...how should I put it...Naruto doesn't think of you as anything more than a friend right now, and there's a reason for that."

Hinata perked up.

"What is it?"

"Naruto recognizes people with resolve, those who are confident and do amazing things...kind of like him. Haven't you noticed how much he pays attention to you when you're doing something amazing? Like the Chunin exams for example. When you act like that, you call out to him. So..."

Sakura put an arm around Hinata, smiling.

"When the opportunity arises, do something amazing, or show your confidence and spirit. Once you've opened his eyes to that, mabey...mabey he'll see you in a different light. I mean think about it, you have Naruto all to yourself for an entire month, so he's bound to get closer to you. Now, does that help?"

Hinata nodded, and hugged Sakura.

"Thanks Sakura, you're a great friend."

Sakura smiled.

"You too."

At this, a few sharp knocks could be heard from Sakura's front door. Sakura got to her feet as slowly as possible, walking easily over to the door. When she opened it, nobody stood in the archway, leaving Sakura puzzled.

"Huh? But...somebody just knocked right?"

At that, a click was heard at the window, and Sakura turned to the back of the room in unison with Hinata. Standing now inside the apartment, before the open window stood Naruto, a goofy grin on his face, aimed at Hinata.

"Hey Hinata! I couldn't find you anywhere, so I figured you may have stayed at Sakura's!"

Sakura marched up to Naruto, mere inches from his face.

"And what gives you the right to just come in through my WINDOW!?!"

"Well it took you too long to answer the door so I-"

Sakura hit Naruto dead center in the face, causing him to fly back into the side wall.

"TO LONG MY ASS! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COME BARGING IN THROUGH MY WINDOW!!!"

Naruto stood up shakily, smiling his same goofy smile.

"Ha, your still as scary as ever Sakura."

Sakura was getting ready to sock Naruto yet again, but a little yelp from Hinata stalled her fist. She stood, fuming for a few seconds, before turning back to Naruto, a somewhat strained smile on her face.

"So...why did you come here again?"

Naruto put his hands behind his head.

"Well I figured that before the mission, me and Hinata go get ramen before we set off. When I went to her house though, Neji told me she had never come home, so I figured she stayed at your place."

Naruto now turned to a slightly blushing Hinata.

"Let's go! We can go over the mission plan while we eat, since _somebody _interrupted us last time."

Hinata turned to Sakura, who was shaking violently with a red face.

"Naruto..."

Hinata quickly grabbed her pack, walking between Naruto and Sakura.

"W-Well should we go then N-Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smiled, motioning towards the window.

"Sure, let's go!"

"USE THE DOOR!!"

Naruto laughed, walking towards the door with Hinata in tow.

"T-Thanks for all the help Sakura..."

As the two Ninja disappeared from Sakura's door way, she gave a long sigh, falling into her arm chair.

"My GOD. No way could I spend a month with that guy. I don't envy you at all Hinata."

As Sakura glanced out the window, she say Naruto and Hinata walking down the street, Naruto talking, Hinata laughing. The look on Hinata's face said it all for her. Sakura's face softened into a smile

"Then again...If I was you, I'd be the happiest girl on the planet..."

XxXxX

Ayame greeted the pair of shinobi as they took their seats at the ramen shop, both ordering their usual bowls. Ayame took notice that Hinata was a lot less nervous then last time.

"_Mabey he didn't go and hold her hand like an oblivious idiot."_

As Ayame scrambled way to fill their orders, Naruto turned to Hinata, his face ever carved into a perpetual smile.

"Ok, so I figured that while on the way to the village, we should be able to relax. I don't mean we should totally lax our guard, but we shouldn't have to get into formation, you know?"

Hinata nodded, thinking to herself.

"P-Perhaps we should...sweep the surroundings every...every few hours."

Naruto nodded, taking out his wallet and inspecting it.

"Hmm, well Tsunade-baachan said that the villagers would supply us with local currency, but even so we should save our money for food and just camp out each night. Though we will need to share a tent, I don't want us encumbered by another one..."

As Naruto continued to rant on about their traveling arrangements, Hinata a small gasp and her face turned bright red.

"_Share a tent...With Naruto-kun! Oh my, Will...will I be able to sleep? I mean, if he's there, right next to me, sleeping...how will I be able to concentrate?"_

"-And so we should bring a few days worth of rations just in case off...hey Hinata, you ok?"

Naruto addressing her snapped Hinata back to reality.

"O-Oh, n-no Naruto-kun, I'm fine..."

Naruto gave her a skeptic look, however both their orders came up at that moment, sparing Hinata from Naruto's eye for a few moments.

"So Hinata," Naruto began, as he finished up the last of the broth on his third bowl, "I figured that since we're going to be alone together for a month, we should train together as much as we can."

Hinata turned a tinge of pink, looking down.

"You..you think so?"

Naruto nodded, having already finished his fourth.

"Yeah, that way we can learn each other's styles and then we can trust each other on the battle field. Kakashi-sensei always told us that without trust, a Shinobi team is bound to fail. Since there's only two of us, it's even more important, right?"

Hinata's face felt WAY to hot for comfort, but she still managed to croak out an answer.

"Y-Yes of course! J-Just go easy on me..."

Naruto laughed, polishing off his sixth bowl.

"I was about to say the same thing! I mean, you fight In Hyuga style right? I haven't fought a Hyuga in a long time and so i don't remember much. However..."

Naruto turned to Hinata, a thumbs up aimed in her direction.

"I remember how strong it is, and I'm sure your no exception. So until we get comfortable with each other's styles, lets just take it easy, ok?"

"Hinata finished her second bowl, turning to Naruto."

"Y-Yes, that sounds good."

Naruto downed his ninth and last bowl, turning to Ayame.

"Sorry I didn't eat as much as usual, but we've got to go! See ya around!"

Naruto dropped the money for both shinobi on the counter, leaving Ichiraku with a still bright red Hinata. As Teuchi collected the money, he turned to Ayame, a half smile on his face.

"Is he really that thick?"

Ayame shrugged.

"Well...he is Naruto."

Teuchi laughed.

"Ah, touché !"

Somewhere over by the Academy, Iruka twitched slightly.

XxXxX

Tsunade had not even yet finished beckoning in her visitor when Hiashi Hyuga came walking briskly into her office, his face fixed in a scowl. Tsunade groaned, leaning back in her seat. If something had upset the ever calm Hiashi, the she Knew it would upset her as well. As he took a seat, he nodded to the Hokage, an acknowledgment of her superior standing...if only a slight acknowledgment.

"Greeting Hiashi-sama, how can I help you today?"

Hiashi's icy gaze worried Tsunade. It told her his anger was directed at her, and that bode ill.

"I was ever so fortunate as to have one of my informants see that a certain document fell into my hands..."

Hiashi held up a folder, placing it on the desk.

"And I would kindly ask you to revoke it."

Tsunade picked up the folder, opening it and reading its contents. Finally, she looked up.

"This is the mission detail for Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga..."

Hiashi nodded. Tsunade looked up, trying as hard as she could to stop her eyebrow from raising.

"Uh huh...I'm sorry but you have no authority to tell me to revoke a mission, this is a Hokage level decision."

Hiashi leaned forward, his eyes transfixed on Tsunade's.

"You have sent my daughter on a mission, alone with some boy I have never even met before, to a place I've not yet sent men to inspect. I. Will. Not. Allow it. If you recall them, Let me meet this boy and then, if I like what I see, I'll let them be off."

Tsunade shook her head.

"No dice Hiashi-sama. I'm not recalling this mission."

"Hinata is my daughter."

Tsunade shook her head.

"You are allowed no such emotions as a clan leader. To you, she is nothing more than a dishonorable Hyuga who is nothing but a failure."

"NO!!"

This outburst caught Tsunade off guard, making her send a surprised look at the Hyuga leader.

"No, she is not! I don't care how many missions she fails. Failures or not, she is still my daughter, my first daughter, and could never bear the sight her hurt or dead. I won't let you send her off with some boy I have never even seen!"

Tsunade waited a few seconds after the outburst, then sighed, looking back out the window. She stared at the gates for a few moments, then turned back to Hiashi.

"The two of them are at the gates right now, checking out. If you hurry, you may be able to catch them. Ask them yourself, see that boy for yourself...I think you'll be quite surprised."

Hiashi said not a word but bowed, turning and half running out to the building's roof. Only there did he take off, bounding from rooftop to rooftop...

XxXxX

Naruto stood before the registration desk, trying to fill out all the paper work so he could leave the village. For all his life, Naruto could never understand why he had to fill out over ten different forms just to leave on an extended mission. Hinata was right next to him, filling out the same forms, only she looked less confused, Naruto had to ask her about a few questions on the forms. As Naruto finished signing the very last form, he stood up, wiping the sweat of his brow.

"Whew! I feel like I just completed a mission right there! You ready Hinata?"

Hinata looked up, jumping to her feet.

"Y-Yes Naruto-kun!"

"Alright, then let's go!"

"Hold it right there."

Both Naruto and Hinata turned to see the figure of Hiashi Hyuga, standing a few feet away from them. Hinata's eyes grew wide, but Naruto just tilted his head, confused.

"Hey Hinata, this guy has the same eyes as you, who is he?" Naruto whispered

Hinata didn't respond directly, but did serve to answer the question.

"G-Greetings F-Father-sama!"

"Naruto looked first at Hinata, then at Hiashi, then at Hinata, then at Hiashi again.

"Wait, that's you father!?"

Hiashi turned to Naruto.

"Do you find that hard to believe?"

Naruto shrugged.

"Well, yeah I guess. It's just...well other then the eyes...you two don't look much alike."

Hiashi drew himself up, looking over Hinata.

"Yes, she does take after her mother, but now..."

Hinata snapped to attention, averting her eyes from her father's.

"W-What do y-you require of m-me Father-sama?"

Naruto put a hand on Hinata's shoulder, causing her stance to loosen and her gaze turn to Naruto.

"Hey chill out Hinata, this is your father. You should be relaxed around him, not worried. He loves you and will not hurt you, so just settle down."

To Hiashi's amazement, Hinata actually calmed down, taking an easy posture and looking up at him. Hiashi cast his gaze towards Naruto.

"_This boy's amazing...now I see why Tsunade is sending him out with her. Never, in all the years I've been her father have I been able to calm Hinata down, and yet this boy, with one hand..."_

"Hinata I do not require you but your friend. Naruto Uzumaki, may I have a word with you?"

Naruto shrugged, walking over to Hiashi, who put his arm around him and led him off a ways from Hinata. When they were out of ear shot, Hiashi turned, regarding Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto...what exactly is your relationship with my daughter?"

Naruto gave Hiashi a confused look.

"What do ya mean, relationship? You mean like are we friends?"

"Are you?"

Naruto gave a thumbs up.

"You bet, she's a great friend!"

Hiashi looked over at his daughter.

"But then...why do you have the ability to..."

Naruto looked up.

"To do what?"

Hiashi looked down, dumbstruck.

"You don't realize it? Well then...perhaps it's best you find out on your own. Now down to business."

Naruto didn't get what Hiashi was trying to say, but he played along.

"Ok...what is it."

Hiashi bent down, sighing.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Hinata is...Hinata is my precious daughter. I do not wish for any harm to befall her, and so I want you to protect her, shield her from the enemy and--"

Naruto had help up a hand, a stern look on his face.

"I can't do that Hyuga-sama. If I do that...how will Hinata grow any stronger? She'll just grow weak, and I won't have helped her at all, besides..."

Naruto looked Hiashi dead in the eyes, something many people were much to frightened to do.

"Hinata's really strong, just like Neji. You need to believe in her, and her abilities. If she can't keep up with me, then I'll help her train to become stronger!"

Naruto picked up his pack, turning to leave, but before he did, he turned back to Hiashi, smiling.

"However, I think I'm the one who won't be able to keep up. So I'm going to grow stronger too!"

Naruto turned and left, running up to Hinata. Hiashi stood, transfixed on the boy.

"What...what an extraordinary boy. No wonder his very presence eases her. Uzumaki Naruto, I trust you with my daughter's life, and I think it's the correct decision...

XxXxX

Naruto ran up to Hinata, stopping when he was right beside her.

"Alright! Let's go Hinata, we've go a mission to complete!"

Hinata nodded, turning back to see the retreating figure of her father.

'W-What did my father w-want with you Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked back, smiling.

"He wanted me to protect you from harm for the entire mission, but I told him that it would be more likely you'd be protecting me! And so, both of us need to get stronger Hinata! Me, so I can keep up with you, and you, so you can show your dad how strong you really are! Now let's go, we have a mission!"

Hinata's face lit up in a smile (and a blush) and she nodded her head, moving past the gates and crossing the threshold into a new adventure, side by side with Naruto...

**XxXxX**

**Oh yeah, chapter three done! This one took awhile, since I added lots of things that I didn't plan on. Oh, and don't worry, it's all NaruHina goodness from here, since they're the only one on the mission! Also a few notes**

**The Iruka thing after the ramen scene is some homage to the youtube series "Naruto the Abridged Series" by MasakoX and Vegeta3986. If you have not yet seen it, then go see it now, since it's a must have for any Naruto fan.**

**Also, I decided to portray Hiashi in a different light, as a concerned father who truly worries for his daughter's safety. I did this because I like Hiashi, but I always have to make him the strict guy in NaruHina plot. **

**Finally, lot's of the commentary on Naruto and Hinata's relationship, such as Sakura from last chapter, Sakura this chapter, the Ayame and Old man Ichiraku and more to come are actually my thoughts and views on Naruto and Hinata, I'm just speaking through their characters like a good author.**

**Ok, at any rate, review, review, review, and look forward to chapter four!!!**


	4. The Trap Apon the Road

Disclaimer: Naruto is the respective property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fiction, no profit is generated in any from and all Ideas, places, names, and themes from "Naruto" are not the property of the author. This is for entertainment purposes only.

**A/N: Well, time for chapter 4! Before it begins let me answer some of the questions and comments that have come up in the reviews for this story.**

**I've been getting lot's of comments about Sakura's perverted transforming. Yeah, I never intended to add that, but one of the more recent Manga chapters containing a Yaoi sexy no jutsu made me put it in, since it showed Sakura's perverted side.**

**In reference to Japanese language usage. I really only like using Jutsu names and titles. Other than that, I don't like randomly putting Japanese words.**

**I want to give a special reply to **Xanahomy. **Why? Because your review sounded just like my first ever Naruto fic, which I hate. I read it and laughed so hard, and It also made me feel like I really have improved my writing style. For that, I thank you. Also don't worry, this relationship, while having a few key points of major development, will be taken slowly. **

**Yeah, lots of fluff. It's supposed to be that way, I mean come on, It's NaruHina! **

**Just to clarify, NaruHina is my religion! I. LOVE. IT. Period. Best pairing ever, IMO.**

**There is no six, I just wanted to end on a joke. **

**Now that that's done, on to the chapter!**

Chapter 4: The Trap apon the Road

"Nothing again?"

"No, nothing in any direction."

"That's good right?"

"Y-Yes."

"Hey, I'm not good with a map, are we going the right way?"

"Um...no, we took a wrong turn here."

"So we should be on this path?"

"Y-Yes."

"Don't worry about it, they meet again up ahead, kind of stupid to split them if you ask me..."

"..."

"So let's see, the sun is about half way...we should have another 3-4 hours before having to set up camp..."

"..."

"Hey, you want some food?"

"W-What?"

Naruto turned to the shy girl beside him, holding out the loaf of bread he was about to eat, a smile on his face.

"Well you were being so quiet, I figured you needed something to eat!"

Hinata blushed and looked away.

"N-No I'm fine...besides, w-weren't you going to e-eat it Naruto-kun?"

Naruto ripped the loaf in half, placing it on Hinata's head. It started to fall immediately, and Hinata dived to catch it, only barely getting it before she fell over. Naruto laughed wildly.

"Hehe, nice save Hinata! Though you're not very good at head balancing."

Hinata bit into the bread timidly, her gaze cast downward.

"S-Sorry...Naruto-kun."

Naruto laughed again, putting his loaf on his own head, balancing it as they went.

"Don't worry about it! It's my fault any way...you apologize to much Hinata."

Hinata's eyes widened, and she looked up quickly and then down again.

"S-Sorry..."

"See? There you go again! Ha ha ha!!"

Naruto walked up, putting his arm on Hinata's shoulder.

"You may apologize a lot, but it doesn't matter. Since we've left, I've laughed more times than I can count! You're really funny Hinata."

Hinata looked up, her face crimson.

"R-Really?"

Naruto flashed a thumbs up.

"Yep!"

As the pair continued to walk, the sun continued to fall into the horizon line. At about an hour before dark, Naruto suddenly stopped, holding up a hand as to signal Hinata to stop as well.

"N-Naruto? What is it?"

Naruto's eyes were serious, fixed on the road ahead.

"My recon clone just got destroyed. The memories I got back from it say it was attacked. Can you check? About a quarter mile ahead."

Hinata nodded, giving a grunt. The veins that led to her eyes suddenly increased in volume, pushing up her facial skin. The veins pulsed, and her eyes became a void of an even more intense white than before. Hinata cast her gaze forward, looking through the trees.

"Yes...there. Up ahead, hidden behind some trees are four men. They have no Ninja gear or signs, they look more like bandits."

Naruto nodded, casting his gaze upward in thought.

"So I think...Flush, Circle and Snare?"

Hinata gave a nod, and Naruto grinned, forming his most cherished hand sign.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

twenty five Naruto clones appeared before him, all looking straight at him.

"Flush, Circle, Snare guys, you know what to do!

The clones nodded, and five ran off ahead of the others, while the remaining twenty spread out and moved ahead. Naruto turned to Hinata, a grin once again in place on his face, but his eyes were still hardened by the thought of battle.

"I guess we should get into position too eh?"

Hinata nodded, and just like that the two of them where gone.

XxXxX

A Bushin fell to the ground, vanishing in a cloud of smoke as soon as it contacted the brush below. Above it, three figures stood, one bent over, inspecting where to clone once lay.

"These the guys you think?"

The tallest one, leaning his back against a tree, nodded down.

"I reckon. Our worm said there were two of em' comin', And that's a Shinobi art. Even so, I didn't expect our opponent to know something as advanced as Kage Bushin..."

The one standing between the other two looked at the one leaning against the tree.

"Your orders?"

"We wait for em' to come down the road, and we jump em'. Simple, clean, and we get paid all the quicker."

The one squatting down nodded, standing up.

"Yeah, I'm sick of this bandit outfit, I can't show off my hair..."

"Pffft, like anybody would want to see that..."

"What did you-!"

"Shut up!"

The other two turned to the leader, now crouching low, looking around.

"I heard something. It might be them."

The others looked around, and soon enough they saw them. Coming in through the forest were five more clones, all trying (and failing) to stay concealed. The leader smiled.

"Heh, we're dealing with an amateur here! What a simple diversion tactic. Don't move men, we'll wait for the real one to grow impatient, then we-!"

A shuriken flew past the leader, cutting off his sentence and a piece of hair in the process. The clone that had thrown it charged forward, as did the other four.

"W-What! It's not a diversion, it's an attack! Get them all!"

The three men set to work, delivering some well aimed punches and kicks so that the clones could not fight back. What the didn't notice however, was that the clones were leading them slowly towards the open road. When the last clone fell, the three men were standing dead in the open. Instantly, twenty more clones surrounded them, smiling broadly.

"We've got you trapped!" They all shouted in unison.

The leader smiled, then laughed, loud and shrill.

"You have us!? You have us!? Oh really! Get em' boys!"

The three men jumped up all attacking the clones. Quite quickly the circle was almost gone. Then suddenly, the clones disappeared of their own will, and three more clones arose. These were different however, they had white eyes, and dark blue hair. The clones wasted no time running up and, with a series of jabs and pokes, closed of the tenketsu of their opponent's legs. The three men fell and, in shock, watched as the real boy and girl both flew down from two different tree tops, one smashing a ball of chakra into his opponent, the other delivering a powerful palm thrust to the heart of her's. They both stood up, turning now to the handicapped leader.

XxXxX

Naruto grinned down at their work. The tactic he and Hinata had thought up was quite good, it's work spoke for itself.

"So, who are you guys?"

The leader looked up, his face grim.

"Simple bandits, and unlucky at that..."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"No, you aren't. Even my clones mop the floor with common bandits. Now tell the truth, or my partner can just slowly close off all your chakra until you spill the beans."

The man glared up, but finally succumbed.

"Fine...we are Earth Ninja, Chunin level. We got a mission to enter Konoha and kill two Shinobi heading this way."

"Who requested the mission?"

"Some bandit group near the border."

Naruto looked at Hinata, who nodded.

"Look, please don't kill me. I was just doing my job, like you guys. I've told you all I know ok?"

Naruto looked back, his eyes soft once more.

"Oh I won't kill you. Not at all, however..."

He nodded to Hinata, who walked up, jabbing him quite hard in the chest.

"I'll just knock you out for a few days. See ya."

The man fell silent apon the ground. Naruto turned, a huge grin on his face.

"Man, did you see that Hinata!? We rocked! If we keep up teamwork like this, no way can we fail!"

Hinata gave a small nod, with which Naruto was not content with. He placed both hands on her shoulders, flashing a big smile.

"You see!? This is why I believe in you Hinata! You're way strong, and you just proved it!"

Hinata continued to look down, but her voice grew, as did her eyes.

"R-Really?"

"_Naruto recognizes people with resolve, those who are confident and do amazing things...kind of like him. Haven't you noticed how much he pays attention to you when you're doing something amazing?"_

"Yep! So cheer up!"

Hinata smiled, not a small one, but a big smile.

"_When the opportunity arises, do something amazing, or show your confidence and spirit. Once you've opened his eyes to that, maybe...maybe he'll see you in a different light."_

Hinata looked up, here eyes gleaming as much as her smile.

"Yes! Thank you Naruto-kun!"

Naruto gave her a thumbs up, and then looked up into the sky.

"Ah dammit, I forgot how late it was! We need to set up camp. Is there a river any place near?"

Hinata nodded.

"Yes, A few hundred yards that way."

Hinata pointed to their left, and the two leaped over to the rocky bank of the river.

"Perfect, could you go get some water? I'll set up camp.

"Hinata nodded, walking over to the river and pulling out a scroll labeled with a drop of water. Hinata opened it and said a word, and suddenly two giant buckets appeared before her. As Hinata filled up the second bucket, her smile widened.

"_So many good things happened today. I hope I can continue to impress Naruto-kun...I'd be so happy if he really did take notice of me..."_

The bell on the bucket rang, and Hinata snapped back to reality, picking up the now full bucket and replacing it on the scrolls. With a word, the two filled buckets were gone into the scroll, and Hinata set back towards camp. In the short time she had been gone, Naruto had already pitched the tent, set up the inside, and was now in the process of lighting a fire.

"Ah, you got the water! You go ahead and finish the fire, I'll get us some fish!"

Hinata nodded, and started to blow on the fire softly. After a few minutes it fully ignited, and Hinata sat back. A thought struck her, and Hinata reached into her bag.

She looked around a few times and then, when she was sure nobody was looking, pulled out a little black book from her bag. This was her journal, and Hinata had had it since she was old enough to write. It was, in essence, the only thing in the world that told the tale of Hinata's heart. She never told anybody her feelings about her past, her relatives, her first love, her life. She admitted things to this journal she would not even admit to herself, and so it was her most sacred treasure, given to her by the most unlikely of people. She had named it "My Heart," a perfect name.

Hinata stole one last glance around, and then cracked open the book, writing in the bottom half of the latest page.

_To My Heart,_

_I hope I can write everyday, but I don't know if I'll be able to find the time or privacy. I'm very busy, and on top of that I don't want anybody to see you. If Naruto-kun saw...I don't know what I would do! I'd be so scared...but maybe a little happy? I mean, it would be a quick way for him to learn about..._

_No, I will tell him when the time is right. Until then, My Heart will remain hidden, just as it always is..._

_But enough about that, today was great! Naruto-kun...he thinks I'm funny! He said it himself! Today...we had to fight some Chunin from Earth..but we beat them! And better yet, Naruto said I had proven how strong I am! Am I strong? I just feel so...conflicted. Naruto-kun and the others say I'm strong, yet all the years of my Uncle and Neji telling me I'm weak...I just don't know who to believe any more._

_Oh! Naruto-kun is about to come back! Wait till tomorrow, I'm sure I'll have lots more to tell!_

_,Hinata_

XxXxX

A splash, the scattering of water droplets, a flick of red among the white, and then gray slicing into the red. Naruto emerged from the water, satisfied. He had caught ten fish.

Naruto walked up onto the shore collecting the fish from the tree.

"Alright! That's five for each of us! Man I hope Hinata like Salmon!"

Naruto collected the fish, walking up the bank towards the camp.

"Man, this is going to be a great mission! I haven't had a chance to train for awhile, and now me and Hinata both have the perfect chance! I haven't dueled a Hyuga in years...well, I'm sure Hinata's a better person to be around than Neji the the emotionless block..."

Naruto walked up, spotting Hinata hunched over, writing in a little black book. Naruto recognized the type of book right off, he had often seen Sakura writing in a same little book, only it was pink. She had called it a diary, and had hit him rather _hard _when he once looked to see what she was writing.

"Hey Hinata!!"

Hinata looked up, then down, writing what looked a last line. She then closed the book, putting it in her bag and turning to the fire, throwing some more branches on.

"Hey Hinata! I got us some fish, do you like salmon?"

Hinata nodded.

"Y-Yes Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled wide.

"Great! Then let's get these babies roasting! I've been starved since we beat those guys senseless!"

Before, during and even after dinner, Hinata and Naruto sat together around the fire. Naruto of course, talked the most, but even Hinata had a few experiences to share, and one or two jokes to tell. Both of them talked and laughed until their fire was almost gone, when Naruto finally extinguished the last of the flames and walked into the tent. He threw off his shirt, letting it fall next to his bedroll. Naruto lay down, hands behind his head, staring up at the tent roof. Hinata walked into the tent a bit later, laying down on her bedroll and blushing a bit. Naruto wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Hey Hinata...you know what?"

Hinata looked over to Naruto, her face showing her curiosity.

"What?"

Naruto smiled at her.

"You're really fun to hang out with. I mean, when we were around the fire, man I've never had such a good time on a mission ever! I think this is going to be nice Hinata, just the two of us. After all, you're a great friend!"

It was times like this that Hinata was very, VERY thankful Sakura had taught her to keep her fainting in check. However, as Naruto continued to speak, her face had grown more and more red, to the point that her blood vessels might burst.

"Y-Y-Yes N-Naruto-kun. I-I think I-It will be n-nice a-as w-well!"

Naruto nodded, before leaning over, blowing out the candle between them. As the tent grew dark, Naruto turned over.

"Night Hinata..."

Hinata sighed, covering herself with her sheet and whispering just loud enough for him to hear.

"Good night Naruto-kun..."

**And that folks, is the end of chapter 4! I really wanted to start to delve into Hinata's past, and how her feelings will affect this story in a big way. Also, more fluff, more relationship development! You know you want it. Also, bad ass fight scene! Hells yeah! Review my friends, and soon chapter 5 will be apon us!**


	5. Dark Memories Forged in Rains

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, based off Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. All names, places, themes and related materials that are part or whole of Naruto are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. The author holds no claim or ownership over such properties. This is for entertainment purposes only. No profit is generated in any way or form to anybody including the author. This story is property of the author. Please do not copy, claim ownership or other wise reproduce this work without author's consent.

**A/N: Ok, and so we roll on up to Chapter 5! I will say, I'm liking the response on this one, so I'm going to make this my Main fiction, I.E, the one that gets updated the most. In any case, let's go!**

**P.S: I know it looks intimidating, but please read the endnotes for some important info and explanations.**

Chapter Five: Bitter Memories Forged in the Endless Rains

It was not the normal rays of sun that roused Naruto from his deep slumber. No shining hope or warm mornings greeted the blond shinobi as his eyes creaked open. As he listened, Naruto sighed, his expression glum.

It was raining.

Naruto sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. With a look over to his left, Naruto saw that Hinata was still asleep, and went about changing into his normal attire. As he shed his white T-shirt, he shivered, the air was cold. Naruto quickly threw his mesh under armor and normal shirt on, along with his orange and black jacket. He zipped up his pants, taking extra care to seal his Zori firmly to his feet. Finally, Naruto tightly tied his Headband around his head. The entire time, Naruto's eyes were devoid of his normal cheerfulness, his normal goofy attitude. His eyes were dull and glazed over, his face bored.

"It's raining..."

Naruto opened the tent flap to see that it was coming down pretty hard, and not about to stop. The entire sky as far as he could see was enveloped in dark clouds. Naruto sighed, pulling an umbrella from his travel pack and pushing it open, positioning it over his form as to block the streaming rain. He walked, slowly and half-hearted, towards the river. As his Zori splashed into the mud and lifted out, bringing the brown mess with them, Naruto continued to stare blankly ahead. When her reached the river, Naruto's arm dropped to his side, letting the umbrella fall from its protective position. Naruto looked up, staring into the sky. He saw the millions of water droplets fall and hit a million different spots on earth, but He really didn't care. That wasn't why he had come.

"Rain...how long had it been? Ha...Ha...yeah, how long..."

Naruto continued to laugh his hollow, half-hearted laugh. He looked back up, a tear forming in his eye.

"The rain...it takes me back..."

"_You get out of this place now!!_

XxXxX

_Naruto slammed into the wall, letting out a cry as he connected with the wooden surface. He looked up, one eye closed in pain, his face full of furry. Anger._

"_Get out now you beast! You'll only endanger the other orphans! I swear...I don't care what the Hokage says I'll never let filth like you live here! Now leave!"_

_Naruto drew himself up fully, which wasn't much since he was only five years old and as such was not very tall. He had every intent of leaving, but he needed it back first. He raised a finger, pointing to the locket in the caretaker's hand._

"_G-Give it! Give that...give that back to me!!!"_

_The caretaker gave a sneer, holding up the locket._

"_This? Please, you probably stole it. I'll make sure it gets returned to its-"_

_At this point Naruto jumped on the man, bitting the man's finger quite hard, he heard the bone break, and the caretaker dropped the locket, howling in pain. Naruto grabbed it up and ran, ran like crazy until he was out of that hell. He burst through the Orphanage doors to the storm that raged outside. He ran down the rain soaked streets a few more minutes until he found an alley to duck into. _

_He hid behind a trash can, falling onto his rear and panting like a dog. When he had slightly regained his breath, Naruto raised the locket in his hand, opening it and looking at the picture within. Inside was a picture of a very pretty lady with long, blowing yellow hair. Her eyes were the purest blue, piercing Naruto's soul even through the photo. He had had the object since he could remember and, while he didn't know who the lady in the picture was, nor the small boy she clutched in her arms, it was still precious to him, as it was the only thing that had ever truly belonged to him in his entire life._

_Just as Naruto stood up to leave, the Caretaker he had bitten rounded the corner, looking at Naruto with much killing intent._

"_Give me that thing back you brat."_

_The man's eyes burned with hate, killing intent oozing out of him._

"_And then, you're going to pay for what you did to my finger!"_

_Naruto was about to defend himself when he swore he heard a cry of "Daddy stop him!" The caretaker didn't care, that is not until he heard the booming voice of the man who had been with the young girl._

"_Stop what you are doing at once!"_

_The caretaker spun around, as to give the man an insult, but then it looked to Naruto as though he looked at the man's eyes, which Naruto could not remember.._

"_Y-You're...You're-!"_

_The man walked over, looking at Naruto for a few moments. His gaze was cool, yes, but to Naruto's surprise it was not filled with ravenous hate like all the others. No, it was more...indifferent. _

"_You will leave this boy alone, do you understand!?"_

_The man gave a quick nod and ran back down the street, never giving a second though to Naruto. The man then turned to his daughter._

"_T-Thank you daddy."_

"_Of course."_

_Naruto saw her. Even now, in his memory, he could not remember the face of the girl who was his savior, nor the man's face. He only remembered her kindness._

"_T-Thank you! I-I mean...nobody ever cares about me, so..."_

_The girl looked at the locked clutched in Naruto's hands._

"_Is it special to you?"_

_Naruto nodded, but then looked up at the girl, and thrust out the locket to her._

_Her face grew in panic._

"_W-What are you-?"_

"_Please...take it. I...I owe you something for helping me..."_

_The man looked down at Naruto, his face hazy._

"_If you truly wish to repay my daughter, which is already unnecessary, then give her something less valuable."_

_Naruto shook his head._

"_N-No, I can't. You see this...this is the only thing I own, the only thing I've ever owned. But-!"_

_Naruto looked at the girl, his eyes full of fire. He remembered the girl blushing._

"_I-I want you to have it! You're the only person who's ever cared about me, so I can trust you with it."_

_Naruto pulled out the girls hand and dropped the locket into her pale hand, closing it around the metal keepsake._

"_Well then, shall we go?"_

_The girl looked up at her father, then to Naruto, and then to her father._

"_Um...sure. Bye..."_

_Naruto smiled, waving to them as they went. As Naruto left, it only then occurred to him that he never asked the name of the one person to ever care about him in his entire life..."_

XxXxX

Naruto smiled back up to the sky, but tears still leaked from his eyes.

"Ever since that day...it seems I'm cursed. Every rainy day, Something happens to make me remember those days...So what'll it be today rain? Is somebody going to die? Are we going to arrive and the village is burning? What? Tell me. Tell me!!!"

Birds flew out of nearby trees at this loud shout, causing an uproar.

"Go ahead! Try it! How can you fuck up my life any more?!! You can't! Try it! I dare you!!"

"N-Naruto-kun..."

XxXxX

Hinata remembered waking up to the sound of sheets of rain falling to the muddy ground below. Hinata's heart sank even before she was half awake. She hated the rain, it brought back to many painful memories, to many dark days. She got up slowly, turning to see that Naruto was not in the tent.

"_He must have gone to get breakfast..."_

Hinata slowly dressed, finally zipping up her jacket tying her head band around her neck. She ducked under the open tent flap, only to see Naruto standing at the bank of the river. Hinata smiled, walking towards him. Just as she was in a few meters of him, Naruto began to scream at the sky.

"-Is somebody going to die? Are we going to arrive and the village is burning? What? Tell me. Tell me!!!"

Hinata took a step back, her eyes wide.

"Go ahead! Try it! How can you fuck up my life any more?!! You can't! Try it! I dare you!!"

Hinata gulped, taking a step towards Naruto. This wasn't the Naruto she knew. She had to snap him out of it.

"N-Naruto-kun."

Hinata was surprised that she had been able to even stammer the words out of her mouth, she had been so frightened by Naruto's sudden outburst.

Naruto turned to look at Hinata. She had expected his eyes to be full of anger, but they were not. In fact, there was _no _emotion whatsoever, which shocked Hinata. She had never, ever seen Naruto like this. Well, she had once, during the Hokage's funeral.

"Oh, hey Hinata...sorry about that. I guess...I guess that scared you huh? Ha ha...ha..."

Hinata looked up. The laugh, it was hollow, emotionless. It wasn't Naruto's laugh, the laugh she loved."

Naruto gave her a sad smile.

"It's just...it's the rain you know? I guess...I guess it just brings back some painful stuff you know? ...Ah, I know, I'll get some breakfast. Yeah, that's what I'll do..."

Naruto sulked off towards the river, Leaving Hinata standing, shocked. Hinata could not, no matter how hard she tried, fathom what could make the normally sweet, happy, free, go-lucky Naruto she knew and loved become so sad. Perhaps it was hard for Hinata to fathom thirteen years of loneliness and hatred.

Naruto returned from the river, a few rabbit's slung over his shoulder.

"I got some rabbits, I didn't feel like fish again. We'll have to start the fire in the tent I guess..."

Naruto walked into the tent, followed by Hinata. He opened the small hole on the left side of the tent for smoke to escape, and then started to construct a small fire pit in the middle of the tent. Hinata looked at Naruto, never blinking once. She was having an internal struggle, her shyness against her urge to confront Naruto. As he was about to start the fire, Hinata's mouth opened, and she spoke the words.

"N-Naruto-kun...why?"

Naruto looked up, his eyes still dull.

"Why what?"

Hinata fought against herself to the death to utter the next sentence.

"Why are you...acting like this? Y-You...your never...always so full of...w-why are you so sad Naruto-kun?"

Naruto hesitated for a moment before putting on a fake smile.

"W-What are you talking about?! I'm the same as always..."

Hinata shook her head.

"No...no you're not! Please! Tell me what's wrong! Maybe I can...M-Maybe...I...can..."

Hinata had depleted the last of her ability to fight her shy nature, and could no longer continue the sentence, but it still had its desired effect.

"H-Hinata...I...I...you're right. I'm not myself. I...I'm sorry it's just the rain...it brings back memories...memories of my childhood, memories I've wanted to forget for a long time..."

Hinata looked up, her eyes somewhat catching Naruto's.

"R-Really?"

Naruto nodded, looking into the fire.

"It seems every rainy day brings another painful memory...so of course...I...hate them."

Naruto's eyes reflected the fire, yet still remained glazed.

"My first memory...is lying, cold and shivering in some back alley, clutching my only possession in my hands, the rain pelting down on me. I don't even know how old I was...but it can't have been more than two, three years old..."

Hinata stayed silent, she could tell Naruto still had more to tell.

"Every year it would rain at least once...and every memory I have of those days are negative, painful. They remind me of the hell I went through as a child."

Naruto reached into the fire, withdrawing the meal he had just cooked. He placed one rabbit down before Hinata, and bit into his own.

"I'm sorry. It's all in the past now, I have a better life now. I have many friends, and a lot of them are like a family. I have Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Tsunade-baachan, Shinzune-niichan. I have everybody from our teams, and I have you Hinata. I..I really do have a better life now. Even so...the rain just brings all that pain rushing back."

Hinata was looking at Naruto, eyes wide and heart heavy. She had never really known about Naruto's past. Even now, she really didn't know much, but she did have a clue.

Naruto's past was just as painful as her's, if not more.

After breakfast, the pair began to pack up the camp. Hinata went down to the river to draw a bit more water, and when she returned she found the entire camp packed up, and Naruto waiting for her, his expression still as glum as ever.

As Hinata went alongside him, she spoke for the first time since Naruto's story.

"Y-You know Naruto-kun...I...have bad m-memories of the rain too."

Naruto looked over.

"Really?"

Hinata nodded.

"Y-Yes. Y-You see...it w-was a rainy day when...for the f-first time...m-my father...he...c-called me...useless..."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, and then drooped, his expression saddened. He turned his head away from her and whispered just loud enough for Hinata to hear.

"Useless..."

For the next four or five hours, the trip passed in silence, neither saying anything or even looking at one another. The rain showed no signs of letting up, the clouds only getting darker. As the time reached around 2 PM, Naruto stopped suddenly, turning to Hinata.

"Let's stop here for a bit, we can rest under that tree and eat."

Hinata looked towards the spot where Naruto pointed to. There was an ancient oak tree, a large section of grass sheltered from the rain. Hinata nodded, and the pair sat down under the tree's mighty branches, both pulling out their food.

"Is that why Hinata?"

Hinata turned to Naruto, confusion etched on her face. She had no idea what he was talking about.

"W-What?"

Naruto sighed.

"Your father...what he said to you, I've been thinking about it. Is that why you don't consider yourself strong? Did you grow up hearing that so much that you yourself believed those words?"

Hinata's eyes widened, and then she dropped her head, tears forming in her eyes.

"I...I...y-yes..."

"You're not useless Hinata."

Hinata looked up, and blushed immediately. Naruto was an inch or two from her face, his eyes locked on her's.

"I don't care what that bastard of a father said to you. You are not useless! Nobody in the entire world is useless, and definitely not you!"

Hinata sat, shocked at his words.

"N-Naruto-kun..."

"I used to be called useless too. I was also called a monster, a bastard, a demon. They always put me down, and never, not once did somebody tell me that they were wrong. Even if I held my head high...I always still believed that maybe, just maybe, I really was useless. That feeling, it's the lowest you can ever feel."

Naruto remembered his childhood, the words of Haku.

"When you feel like nobody on this world needs you, you just want to die. I felt like that, and I never, ever want another person to feel like that again."

Naruto grasped Hinata's shoulders firmly, his eyes still locked with her's.

"I know you're strong. Don't listen to your father ever again."

Hinata was at a loss for words, so she fainted, all her control lost. Naruto let out a gasp, but then sighed, propping Hinata up against the tree.

"Heh, I was wondering how long it would take her to do that. Though she did make it more than a day, and that's...a shock.

Naruto let out a genuine laugh for the first time that day, and leaned against the tree, patiently waiting for Hinata to come to.

XxXxX

"Failed?"

"Yes, we found all three of them on the road, two dead, one knocked unconscious."

"Damn it...I thought Chunin could handle it, guess I was wrong. Did we get a refund?"

"Yes sir, all of it back, plus a little compensation as an apology."

"Right, go back to the village and hire one or two Jounin."

"Jonin!?"

"Yes. I want this annoyance dealt with as soon as possible. This stupid village is the best thing to ever happen to us, and I don't want to lose it! Now go!"

"Y-Yes sir!"

"..."

"Um, sir?"

"You too? What do you want?"

"Well, I heard that..well, that _He's _moving around."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"He could really throw a wrench in our plans, but we can't do anything but deal with our annoyance so he has no excuse to intervene. Keep me posted."

"Yes sir."

"...Blast. Those vermin were able to eliminate three chunin? I didn't expect...so the rumors about Konoha shinobi aren't all boasting. How irksome..."

XxXxX

The first thing Hinata realized when she woke up was that it was no longer day. In the time she had been unconscious, day had turned to dusk. The second thing she could tell was that the rain, while it had slowed, was no longer pouring as hard as before, though it could still be considered a storm. She sat up, looking around her. She was in her and Naruto's tent, lying on her bedroll.

"Hey Hinata!"

Hinata looked up at the fire again and saw Naruto sitting atop his own bedroll, eating some of his rations.

"Good to see you're awake. You were out for a long time Hinata, I had to set up camp a few miles earlier than we wanted."

Hinata blushed, cursing herself for fainting.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun..."

Naruto waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't worry Hinata, we just have to set out early to reach the village by tomorrow."

Naruto bit into the last of the biscuit he had been eating, and then threw off his shirt, much to Hinata's embarrassment.

"You should eat something, but we really need to get to sleep so we can shove off early. I just wanted to make sure you were alright when you came to."

Hinata nodded, unwrapping her rations.

"Thank y-you Naruto-kun!"

Naruto smiled.

"Don't mention it. G' Night Hinata."

Naruto rolled over, his form stretching out to take up his whole bedroll. Sure enough he was asleep in moments. Hinata allowed herself a small smile, he was cute when he slept. Hinata began to dig into her food, when something hit her. Naruto was suddenly in better spirits. It was then the entire conversation with Naruto before her fainting spell came back to her, and she smiled brightly.

"_Naruto-kun...he...he doesn't think I'm...oh Naruto-kun...thank you."_

Hinata reached into her bag to retriever her diary, but then as her fingers enclosed around its form, had second thoughts and released it.

"I need to get my sleep. I promise to write tons tomorrow."

Hinata blew out the lantern and rolled over to go to sleep, but reached into her bag, digging to the very bottom. From the depths she retrieved a wooden box, and slowly she opened it. Inside lay a simple, metal locket, given to her on a day much like this, by a boy whom she could not recall a face or name.

For some reason however, it always reminded her of Naruto, and so she now fell asleep, the locket clutched in her hands, close to her chest, a soft smile taking up residence on her face...

**And so chapter five comes to a close. This is one of those scenes that I though out in before I even uploaded this fiction, and decided to put it someplace it would fit. I hope it didn't seem too inconsistent with the story so far. I really wanted to show the darker Naruto that Hinata really isn't accustomed with. I also needed some old connection that neither are aware of, but may learn of in the future (wink, wink.)**

**Also, for any concerns on the fact their relationship is developing too fast, I'd like to point out two things. One is that most, if not all of the stuff Naruto does and says is stuff that Naruto would say and do, no thought as to how it will effect Hinata.**

**My second point, think if their relationship in terms of a scale from 1 to 100. If a person is above 70, they have romantic feelings for them. Hinata is someplace in the 85-100 range, no doubt. Naruto starts somewhere at 50, and even if he gets to 69 rather quick, his next up will be 69.1, then 69.2, and so on. **

**In conclusion, Naruto is thick, so even if he is as close as friends can be, it'll take awhile for him to really start to feel that way about Hinata-chan. **

**Now, sorry for the really long end notes, and look forward to "Chapter Six: The Hermit of the Border!" Review and be there!**


	6. A Twice Lost Battle

Disclaimer: Naruto is the respective property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fiction, no profit is generated in any from and all Ideas, places, names, and themes from "Naruto" are not the property of the author. This is for entertainment purposes only.

**A/N: And so here we are at chapter six! I really, really, really apologize for not only updating this so late, but publishing another story (abide a oneshot) during my absence. I have been suffering from writers block...well, kinda. I've written this about three, four times, and all those times I didn't like how it was. Just know that the drafts for this involved Naruto seeing Hinata naked, dancing enemy ninjas, angst, a scene where the Kyubi took control of Naruto, and a scene where Hinata showed Naruto the locket, which he triggered an ill-formed memory...yeah, crazy. Now that I'm back in the groove now, I think I can crank out some more chapters, so lets get started.**

Chapter Six: A Twice Lost Battle

"**Hmph, not bad Kit."**

"Not bad yourself."

"**Still...I WON'T LET YOU WIN!!!"**

"...Heh."

Somewhere withing the deep recesses of Naruto's mind, the boy and a giant Fox spirit held a ferocious battle. However, if one were to observe their actions, it would look like anything but.

Naruto sat in a lotus position, staring down the Kyubi, who was sitting calmly in his cage. The reason for this was that the battlefield was not with bodies, but with chakra. The Kyubi tried to take control of Naruto, while he tried to fend off the attack. Lately, the Kyubi had began to grow restless, and it seemed that every night was another battle for dominance.

Naruto was steadily improving, but even so the Kyubi was a formidable foe. He had even come close to losing just a few nights ago. However, Naruto had not lost a battle yet, and he intended to keep his winning streak up.

"**Gah!! Damn you kit, DAMN YOU!!! Who the hell taught you to control your emotions?!"**

Naruto took another breath, relaxing. For another night, he had won.

"That old pervert. He's good for something besides peeping."

The Kyubi growled softly.

"**Just you wait. The moment you lose control, the very second I feel your barrier over me waver, your finished. Now get out of here, I can smell the Hyuga girl cooking."**

Naruto sniffed, his eyes widening.

"Your right!"

XxXxX

Hinata almost spilled all of her Miso into the soup when Naruto suddenly bolted upright. The blond shinobi sat straight up, eyes wide for a few minutes. Hinata just continued to stare at him, concern growing in her eyes. She was rather surprised when Naruto suddenly sprung up from his bedroll.

"Ah! What a rest, now it's a new day, the sun is shining, Hinata's cooking, and we're only a few hours from the Mission!"

Hinata blushed, Naruto had just complimented her cooking skills, one of the few things even her father praised her for. Perhaps that's why she tried so hard to improve her culinary arts.

"Um...N-Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned, smiling brightly.

"Hey Hinata, what's up?"

Hinata pointed to the dark exterior of the tent.

"It's still raining..."

Naruto felt like smacking himself in the face. Not only was it gloomy outside the tent, he could hear the sheets of rain pouring down. His spirit faltered a little, but he just wen to changing.

"Ah well, my bad. We have umbrellas though, so it'll be ok."

Hinata looked up, mildly surprised. She had expected a huge change in attitude.

"Y-You aren't...sad?"

Naruto laughed, a whole laugh, not one of his hollow laughs from the day before. It filled Hinata's soul to hear his laugh again.

"Nah. I got to thinking that...well, you and me have gone through a lot of the same stuff Hinata. But even so, you were so much stronger than me yesterday. No matter how much physical strength I have, my weakness is still my emotions."

Naruto sat down opposite of Hinata, smiling softly at her.

"You're strong Hinata. So I've decided to follow your example and keep my head high, even if it's that hardest thing in the world."

Hinata really didn't know what to say, Naruto had just said he admired her for the same things she had admired him for since she was a small child. To hear him say this now...

"T-Thank you Naruto-kun...really."

As Hinata turned back to the soup, a thought struck Naruto.

"_Wait...Naruto**-kun**? She's always called me that, I wonder why..."_

Naruto's thoughts were brought to a halt by the suddenly bubbling from the soup pot before Hinata.

She gave a small cry of "Oh!" but then doused the flame under the pot, pouring some soup into a bowl for Naruto.

"I-It was raining..s-so I figured t-that we s-should...should have s-something warm..."

Naruto nodded.

"Itidakimasu!"

Naruto put the bowl to his lips, throwing back his head as he downed the entire bowl in under a five seconds.

"Wow, that was great Hinata! How did you get the texture to be so creamy?! I can never get it to do that..."

As Naruto filled his second (and third) bowls, Hinata explained her cooking method to him.

"_This is nice," _Naruto thought to himself as he helped himself to another bowl, _"Just talking, like two great friends. I feel so at ease when it's just Hinata and me."_

"A-And so then you p-put in some--"

Suddenly, a large splash erupted over the tent. It wasn't like others, it sounded as though a bucket of water had been dumped over the tent.

"Hinata?"

Hinata nodded, activating her Byakugan and scanning around.

"No...I don't see anything."

Naruto was about to relax, putting it off as an uptake of rain or something, before a certain smell hit him.

"Oil..."

Hinata looked over at Naruto, puzzled.

"Naruto-kun?"

And Naruto suddenly understood.

"HINATA, OUT OF THE TENT NOW!!!"

Naruto grabbed Hinata and flung her from the tent, throwing himself out as well. Just as they did, a few words rang out, and a wisp of fire hit the tent, igniting the oil that had been splashed apon it earlier. With the oil, even the rain could not douse the rising flames. Naruto was now lying in the mud, Hinata next to him. He looked back to the tent, now fully engulfed in flame.

"Oh no...not kids."

Naruto looked over to see a man standing before him. He was a few inches taller than Naruto, in his mid twenties. His black hair hung down to her shoulders, eyes set on a scarred face looking Naruto over. He was slim, no fat and little muscle on him. Around him the stranger had a brown cloak and hood, covering his head and body from the rain. However for an instant when he jumped, Naruto saw a chunin jacket and worn, simple brown shirt and pants underneath his cloak. What disconcerted Naruto the most was the straight edged Katana tied to his waist, locked in a black sheath with the words "God of Black Flames" carved in Kanji.

"Who are you?"

The man's eyes swept over Naruto, but they held to killing intent. In fact, it almost seemed as though the man was...sad.

"Kuchiki Mabase, Iwa Shinobi, Jounin level."

Naruto winced at the last part. A Jounin, he would be hard to defeat in combat.

"I was told that I had to kill a pair of Konoha shinobi, but to kill those so young...dammit. Irisa, you can come out now."

From behind Kuchiki came another Iwa Shinobi. This one was an elegant young women, emerald eyes shining in the dark atmosphere. Her waist length brown hair was covered by the cloak, though her hood was down. She also wore a Chunin jacket, along with simple clothing underneath. Also, strapped to her belt were what Naruto believed to be Asuma's trench knives, but closer inspection was that they were more like brass knuckles. They were pure white, and carved on one was "The Goddess of" and on the other one was carved "White Flames."

"Children? Oh and look honey, they're a cute couple like us. Why did it turn out like this?"

The man sighed.

"I don't know dear."

The man turned to Naruto and Hinata, pity shining in his eyes.

"I am Kuchiki Mabase, and this is my wife, Kuchiki Irisa. We are both Jounin level. Please forgive us, but we must take your lives. Don't be too hard on us in the after life.

Naruto grabbed a Kunai, tensing for battle.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, and this is Hyuga Hinata, my close friend and traveling partner. She is a chunin, and I am a Genin, abide at Chunin level. _I'm _sorry, but we need to keep moving, or there's a village that's going to get burned by bandits. Now move aside or die."

The man sighed, looking back up at Naruto.

"Look, just walk away right now. If you go back to your village I'll tell them I killed you and we can avoid any blood--!"

Mabase was cut off mid sentence due to a Naruto clone slashing his neck with a Kunai. The Jounin was gone in a puff of smoke, and a log appeared in it's place. Mabase appeared a few feet from his wife, a grimace on his face. Naruto smirked.

"Sorry, but no dice. I said I'd save that village, and I'm going to do it. I never go back on my word, that's my Nindo!"

Mabase sighed, drawing his straight edge Katana from it's sheath.

"Then I guess we have no choice. I'll take the boy dear, you go for the girl."

The women nodded, and then both forms were gone.

Naruto tuned to Hinata.

"Seems like this'll be two one on one fights, get ready."

Hinata nodded as well, assuming her stance. This was the last Naruto saw of Hinata before his vision suddenly went black.

XxXxX

Naruto found that he stood before the great gates of the Kyubi once again, two giant red eyes glaring down at him. The waters at his feet moved much more rapidly than usual, and he felt suffocated, as though there was a lack of air.

"Bastard..why am I here?"

The Kyubi silently regarded Naruto, his normal mocking voice silenced. Then, wisps of red chakra flew from the gates swimming close to Naruto. He quickly closed off his tenketsu and glared at the fox.

"I won't accept your-"

"**You need it bastard. Have you even measured their chakra pulses yet?"**

at a shake of the head, the Kyubi let out an exasperated sigh.

"**Strong. If you take them lightly, they'll kill you. Stop being an idiot and take my power!"**

Naruto spat on the ground, glaring back up at the beast.

"I refuse. I can beat him, I won't lose. And even if there was no chance in hell of beating him, I'll never use your power again. I'd rather die."

The Kyubi raised an eyebrow, laughing in a low tone.

"**So noble. But what about the Hyuga girl? Would you still refuse my power even if it was the only way to preserver her life?"**

The Kyubi had struck a nerve, and Naruto was now visibly shaking. His ploy was working. A bit more, and Naruto would lose control, leaving him wide open.

"Don't you _dare _insult Hinata! Her strength is more then sufficient to destroy these bastards! What's more, I can take these guys without your help! Stay out of it BASTARD!!"

Naruto's killing intent rose to its peak, washing over the Kyubi in waves.

"You insult me, Hinata, everything else in my life...well now I'm insulting you! I won't take your power. Who needs power from demon who can't even break the will of a human boy? I must say, that's pretty pathetic.

The Kyubi let out a fierce growl.

"**BASTARD!!!!"**

Naruto waved a dismissive hand.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a fight to win. Though I do have to thank you for getting me nice and warmed up for the fight. See ya!"

Naruto turned on his heel and left the room, leaving the Kyubi howling in rage.

XxXxX

As Naruto's senses turned back to the real world, he was instantly aware of a sword swinging to cleave off his neck. Unable to dodge, he built up some chakra in his hand and caught the sword in the midst of the swing. A few drops of blood fell from his hand, but otherwise he was unharmed. Mabase's eyes widened at this turn of events.

"Sorry..."

Naruto turned his head, eyes meeting Mabase's.

"But I really don't have time to PLAY NOW!!"

Naruto swung around fully, catching the off-guard man with a punch to the gut. Mabase keeled over, and Naruto connected again with a powerful upwards kick to his chin. Mabase flew through the air, landing on his feet a few meters away.

He looked up, only to see that there was already a Naruto clone coming from every direction, even from the air, Kunai in hand. Mabase smirked.

"Impressive for a genin, but you forget..."

The earth below Mabase split, and he fell into the ground, causing all the Naruto clones to collide with one another and poof out of existence. Naruto knew instantly what was coming, and jumped just in time to avoid the hand that popped out of the ground to grab his leg.

Naruto landed in a nearby tree, watching as Mabase emerged from the earth.

"I'm an Iwa Shinobi! I can manipulate the earth with my powerful Jutsu, like so!"

A few quick hand signs later a great spike emerged from the earth, slicing the branch Naruto was perched on off the tree. He managed to dodge, but lost his balance and tumbled to the ground.

"I'll finish it quickly! Earth Dragon Jutsu!!"

The ground below Naruto opened into a great dragon that emerged from the dirt, flying up towards Naruto. Without any other option, Naruto summoned a clone, forming the rasengan in his hand. When he and the Dragon met, he smashed the rasengan into the dragon, effectively blasting it to oblivion. However the fragments of earth from the dragon smashed into his body, wounding his left leg and drawing blood. Naruto landed on his feet a few meters away from Mabase, a grin on his face.

"Not quite good enough."

The Iwa shinobi raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

The Naruto mocking Mabase stuck out his tongue, then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the true Naruto was left standing, rapidly making hand signs. He had hidden behind the clone and used the smoke as cover, catching his opponent off guard.

"Crap, gotta-"

Naruto grinned.

"Too late, take this! Wind style, Slaughtering Gale Storm Jutsu!!"

A great blast of wind suddenly sprung up towards Mabase, invisible wind blades cutting away at him.

"_Damn, gotta move out of this or else...oh crap!!"_

Mabase had just jumped bodily from the storm, only to be met with the image of Naruto with a rasengan in his hand.

"Take this, RASENGAN!!"

The ball of chakra smashed into the Iwa ninja's chest, sending him flying back into a tree. Naruto smiled, jumping for joy, though for some reason he was having trouble breathing.

Mabase looked up from the spot of collision, his face darkened. Naruto just laughed.

"Haha! You've..gah...lost!"

Mabase's face remained hidden in shadow as he lifted it to face Naruto.

"Do you really think that? Haven't you felt it?"

Naruto looked confused.

"Hah...Felt..hah, what?...hah."

"Look down."

Naruto complied, and saw that Mabase's sword had been stabbed right into him, piercing all the way through his chest and protruding out his back. The wound wasn't fatal, but it was piercing a lung, which would explain the difficulty in breathing.

Mabase stood up, looking over at Naruto, eyes narrowed.

"My blade is made of metal sharpened so throughly that it can pierce its target without them feeling any pain. When you attacked me with that move, I stabbed you with my blade. You couldn't feel it, and so you couldn't move out of the way."

Mabase began to regain his balance, and he walked slowly towards Naruto, who was now on his knees.

"Your's is an impressive attack however, at least A rank. You take large amount of chakra and circulate it in you hand. Then, you take that circulating chakra and compress it into a sphere. Then, when the sphere connects with a target, the compressed chakra is freed with explosive results. The swirling chakra can even disrupt the enemies chakra flow if it connects close enough to a tenketsu."

Mabase was now leaning over Naruto, who was close to falling.

"Yes, a most impressive attack."

Mabase grabbed his blade's hilt, drawing it from Naruto's chest. Naruto gave a cry of pain, and then collapsed, falling face down into the mud below.

Mabase put his sword in the air, letting the rain wash away some of Naruto's blood. When it was clean once more, he positioned it over Naruto's neck.

"Do not worry, this will be a quick and painless death. Take comfort in the fact that you partner will also share a painless death. Farewell, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto watched as the sword fell downwards, not resigning to death but trying with every ounce of strength to move some part of his body to block the blade.

XxXxX

Hinata jumped quickly to the side once more, just dodging another wave a chakra. Again she jumped, dodging yet another blow. Silently she cursed herself for her total lack of quick, long range attacks.

Irisa stood a few meters away from her, readying for another strike. Hinata cursed, those knuckles were getting troublesome.

At first, Irisa had merely tried to strike her with them. However, Hinata had proven much faster than the Power-type Irisa, and had delivered a nasty palm strike to her opponents chest, cutting off a few vital tenketsu. After this Irisa had pulled back, firing off what seemed compressed waves of pure chakra from her white brass knuckles. Hinata had initially had little difficulty evading these attacks, however her opponent was recovering rapidly from her injury, and her attacks were getting quicker.

"My my, you sure are a quick little thing Cutie! Oh, if only I didn't have to end your life, you'd have blossomed into such a beautiful young lady, not that you're not almost there..."

Hinata fought to maintain her blush. She reminded herself that she was in a combat situation, no time for emotion. Also, this women was an enemy, and had no right to say such things. Hinata took her fighting stance, ready for a rush.

"Enough. I will not be distracted by your comments. I...I have to be strong, I won't lose!!"

Hinata rushed forward at top speed, catching Irisa off guard. She quickly threw wave after wave, but Hinata nimbly dodged each, until she was inches from her opponent. Hinata went to deliver a finishing blow, but Irisa was ready. Leaping back, she reared all her strength, throwing off her most powerful chakra wave yet. Hinata mimicked her cousin, gathering chakra in her hands and spinning rapidly to from a Kaiten. The effects were unexpected, but effective.

The wave was not deflected, but instead slingshot around the Kaiten and flew right back at it's owner, moving at twice it's initial speed. With panic stricken eyes, Irisa tried to dodge, to no avail. The attack caught her dead in the stomach, and she keeled over, gasping for breath and sputtering blood. Hinata sighed in relief, standing over her fallen opponent.

"I..I'm sorry but...I can't lose, and I can't be weak. Naruto-kun...he told me...he told me that I was strong! And so...I'll be strong, and take your life...I'm sorry."

Irisa looked up, a smile on her face despite the circumstances.

"Ah...now I see. You care for that boy...a shame his life is about to be ended."

Hinata gasped, looking back towards where Naruto had been fighting. While off guard, Hinata was hit square in the back by a powerful punch, sending her flying back ten or twenty meters. She and her opponent both got up shakily, similar states plaguing them.

Hinata was thinking of her next attack when it happened. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata saw their burned camp site. When the oil had all burned out, most of the fire had diminished, and the majority of their possessions were safe. However, a small flame still licked the sides of a wooden box, threatening to engulf it in flame.

It was the same box that housed Hinata's diary and locket.

Mind overcome with panic, Hinata made a mad dash for the box, hoping to spare her most treasured possessions. In her mad dash, she had forgotten to keep her Byakugan activated, something she remembered when she was caught in the back by several rapid-fire chakra waves. Hinata screamed, falling to the ground a foot or two from the burning box. Slowly crawling, Hinata took a handful of mud, throwing it on the flames and effectively dousing it.

Another blow hit her in the leg, and she gasped in pain, inching her hand towards the latch.

Another wave, she had just opened the box, and now groped for her locket and book. With another jar of pain from an attack, Hinata found both of them, putting the book in her jacket pocket and clutching the locket tightly to herself. As she struggled to get up, a figure appeared above her.

"Foolish. You turned your back so you could save some stupid possessions? Why?"

Hinata looked up. It was getting harder to breath, harder to stay conscious.

"I'd...rather...die...than lose...this..."

Irisa smirked, picking up Hinata by the jacket.

"Sentimental value? How will that help you in death? I pity you."

Irisa punched Hinata hard in the stomach, then again in the chest. Hinata fell to her knees, huffing loudly and using every ounce of strength left in her to not pass out from the pain.

"Don't worry, your pain ends here, I'll end it with one strike. You won't feel a thing. And don't worry, your love will meet his end in a similar matter. Perhaps you'll meet him in the next life, if you believe such things."

Irisa raised her fist, ready to end it all.

"I'll always remember you, the worthy opponent that was defeated by a little sentimental emotion. Ah well, so we all meet our end. Farewell, Hyuga Hinata."

Hinata closed her eyes, clutching the locket to her chest. In what she believed to be her final moments, she had regrets, she had never proven her worth to her father. She had never become a master chef. She had never gained the power to protect her friends. And...she had never worked up the courage to tell Naruto how she felt. She had always told herself there would be a tomorrow to tell him, but now, there was none...

XxXxX

Naruto stood before the great gates once more. Well, he really didn't stand, he lay before them. He had not the strength to move, even in his own mind. And so, when two great red eyes looked down apon on him from the shadows, he showed no signs of recognition.

"**Now do you understand? You need my help. Without it, you can't win, and you can't protect what's important to you. Now THAT'S pathetic."**

Naruto looked up, coughing up some blood from the effort.

"B-Bastard! I said it...before. I'd rather die...than use your power!"

The Kyubi raised an eyebrow as it looked over Naruto.

"**Perhaps you're right. Maybe dieing is better than using me. But what about...Hinata?"**

Naruto looked up, his eyes, narrowed.

"What the hell...do you mean?"

"**I mean she's about to die Kit. For some reason she stopped fighting and ran towards the camp site, trying to save some box. During her little distraction, she was hurt badly by the enemy. She's about to be dealt the killing blow, just as you are."**

Naruto widened his eyes in shock, then tried to stand up. Again he coughed up blood, gasping and panting as he fell to the ground once more.

"N-No...I have nothing left...that blade..."

The Kyubi nodded.

"**Yes, it was coated with a fine poison, one that's spreading through your system. It'll kill you soon, I guess a few minutes. However, I can neutralize the pain, and win this battle saving you and your partner's lives."**

Naruto looked up.

"At what cost?"

Before the Kyubi could answer, Naruto sighed in defeat, relaxing his body.

"Not that it matters. I...I'd rather die than use you but...Hinata...no, I won't hesitate and cause her death as well. Alright, give me your power."

The Kyubi remained silent, but instantly wisps of red chakra coiled out of the cage, wrapping tightly around Naruto. He didn't fight it, and his mind cleared in a rush as the pain was nulled, his strength returning ten-fold.

"**The cost is that you've got to let me out more. I thirst for blood, and if you keep me locked up for so long...well let's just say it may be hard for you to resist all my chakra."**

With that little warning, Naruto was lifted from his mind, back into the world outside...

XxXxX

There was a split second where not Naruto nor Mabase knew what had taken place, then a second later there was a sharp sound of metal falling to the ground. Mabase looked down to see that Naruto had punched his blade, and shattered it. He dropped the blade in shock, and Naruto caught his wrist.

Looking up, Naruto stared into the man's eyes. Naruto's were blood red with slitted pupils, red chakra oozing from them, as well as the rest of his form. Naruto raised a hand, and thrust it through Mabase's chest, blood and gore covering the ground. Naruto retracted his hand, letting it fall to his side.

"Payback for stabbing me in the chest."

Naruto looked at the mans surprised and pained face.

"You underestimated me and dropped your guard. A good Ninja has an ace in the hole. Now die, I have something to take care of."

Naruto let the man drop, and as quick as a flash, jumped over to Hinata's position. She had blacked out, Naruto could see various slashes and bruises all around her form. She had really taken a beating.

Hinata was being held by the neck, Irisa readying to land the killing blow. Before she got the chance, Naruto grabbed the arm and twisted it behind her back, then grabbed her other wrist, crushing the bones and causing her to let go of Hinata, who fell to the ground with a splash.

Naruto roared, grabbing the women by the neck and forcing her to the ground.

"Here's what you get for hurting Hinata."

In one fluid motion Naruto jerked his hands, and snapped Irisa's neck, killing her instantly. Her form fell limp, sprawled across the ground.

Naruto turned, red eyes apon Hinata. She was alive, although badly injured. She was clutching a small, metal object to her chest. Naruto was about to see what it was when he felt a sharp pain, falling to his knees.

"**Gah. My ability to suppress the poison is at it's limit. Any more would only strain your body, and kill us both. Now sleep kit, and hope that we don't wake up dead."**

Naruto felt the Kyubi's presence lift from him, and all the pains and aches returned, his vision fogged, and as he fell to the earth, yet strangely his body never made contact with the ground...

**And done! Oh my god, I'm so, so, so, so sorry it's been so long since the last update. I hope I didn't worry anybody. A lot of things cropped up, things I won't bore you with. At any rate, please review and again I apologize for the delay.**


	7. He Who Knew Yondaime

Disclaimer: Ok so...yeah, me no own Naruto. Me make no profit off Naruto. Me only write Naruto fan fiction for entertainment purposes. Me do this to dodge nasty lawyers.

**A/N: Oh, I'm back bitches! Welcome to chapter seven. Now from your reviews I see some of you are a little sad about the deaths of Mabase and Irisa, saying they were still good people. Glad to see this, as I was aiming for this reaction. The fact that I achieved it means my skills as a writer are getting better. So, without any more interruption, let's continue!**

_**Many Thanks to my Beta "Narai Moroha" who's just begun to help me out. With his help, I hope to present chapters that are easier to read and are more enjoyable to grammar freaks. Give him a shout out in your reviews as thanks.**_

Chapter 7: He Who Knew Yondaime

The first thing Naruto became aware of was darkness. His first thought was that the Kyuubi had dragged him back to the gates again, most likely to mock him about the fact he was going to die. However, the lack of a hard tiled floor covered by water told him he was not in his own mind.

It was then he realized he had his eyes closed.

Struggling, Naruto opened his eyes, taking a blurry look around the room. In his half-sleep state, he couldn't make out the finer details, but he could tell that night had fallen, only a few candles on the walls lit the room.

"Ah, so you're awake."

The sound jolted Naruto back into reality. What was he doing here? Hadn't he died fighting those Iwa Ninjas? How did he get here, and where was Hinata? Was she...

Panic rising inside of him, Naruto turned to the source of the voice. It had come from a man sitting on a chair in the corner, face and form cast in shadow.

"Just a moment, I'll be with you shortly."

The figure disappeared in a blast of smoke, leaving an empty chair.

"_A Kage Bunshin...damn it, I need to get up, I need to--"_

Naruto clutched his chest tightly, falling back down to the bed after only moving a few inches up. His entire body ached, and his chest hurt like HELL.

"Yes, moving would be quite unwise at the moment. The poison in your system has been neutralized, however it has still left your body considerably weak. You'll also feel the effects of that stab wound for at least a few days."

Naruto looked up, what was likely the original of the Kage Bunshin he saw stood over him. The man was old, hunched over on a walking stick. His head was bald and gleamed in the candle light, however this was in contrast to his great beard, silvery white and going down to his waist. He wore simple brown clothing and, to Naruto, he really didn't look all that amazing.

"W-Who are...you?"

The old man smiled.

"Ah, where are my manners. Tsubaki. Now please, lie down and rest."

"T-Thanks but... I should be apologizing. I haven't even thanked you for saving us. My name's Naruto U—wait, where's Hinata!!"

Tsubaki's smile flickered, but only for a second, it was firmly back in place soon after.

"...Yes, the young girl with you. I brought her here as well...however..."

Naruto cursed, lifting his body slowly off the bed. He turned his form to get up, but another jolt of pain hit him.

"Damn it..."

Tsubaki looked on, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

"Hmm!? No way the poison's effects could have weakened this much since you awoke from your temporary coma. How..."

Within Naruto, the Kyuubi gave a mirthful laugh.

"**That would be me. My power's working overtime. You'll be healed in a few hours or so."**

Naruto gave grunt of effort, managing to lift himself to his feet. He fell right back to the bed however, unable to support himself.

"**Yeah...don't try that yet."**

"_Shut it you bastard!!"_

Naruto turned to Tsubaki.

"Heh...do you have..heh, another walking stick?"

Tsubaki nodded, leaving the room, returning seconds later with a thinner yet still useful walking stick. Naruto stuttered his thanks, getting to his feet once more. He succeeded in staying on his feet, leaning heavily on the stick.

"Please...heh...take me...heh...to Hinata."

Tsubaki sighed.

"Yes, yes I shall, but you won't be happy with what you see."

With a heavy heart, Naruto followed Tsubaki down a hallway out of his room. Like his room it was lit only with candles, the house was styled much like the Hyuuga compound. A ways down the hallway, Tsubaki stopped at the door to the room ahead.

"Here she is."

Sliding the door open, Naruto caught sight of Hinata, and his knees almost gave way.

Before Naruto was the sight of a mortally wounded Hinata, lying like a board on the bed before him. She was half covered in bandages, the parts that were not covered were used to attach little suction cups hooked up to a machine in the back of the room. Her face was much paler than usual, almost translucent. A pile of bloodied bandages lay in the corner garbage, and the new bandages were already beginning to stain with fresh blood. Naruto gasped, taking a heavy step forward.

"She was hit with high concentration chakra waves. While her outsides are pretty banged up, that's not the problem - Her insides were torn up as well. Luckily, I was able to repair most of the damage. However some things were out of my hands."

Naruto was now at Hinata's bedside. He let himself slide down the stick, now on his knees over Hinata.

"She tore an atrium in her heart, I was able to repair the damage, but she'll have some complications such as an overall drop in blood. Not permanent, but it will impair her fighting abilities for some time."

Naruto gave a quick glance of Hinata. Low blood volume would explain why she was so pale.

"She also took serious damage to her skull, fractured down the middle, I was only able to seal it up. Could cause some memory loss, that is if she lives.

Naruto jerked his head towards Tsubaki.

"If she lives?!"

Tsubaki gave a great sigh.

"I'll be frank. She's in critical condition, with perhaps a 47 percent chance of survival. Really, it's up to her will."

Naruto hung his head, eyes now looking straight down at Hinata's face. It was even paler up close, as well as cold, she didn't radiate any warmth. Naruto closed his eyes tightly, tears slowly flowing from his eyes.

"...Hinata...You...I...I could have...If only I hadn't been so stubborn...I could have accepted it...I could have...DAMMIT!!!"

Naruto slammed his fist down on the floor, his yell echoing meaninglessly around the room. A dull clang of metal rang out in the room, and Naruto looked down. His fist had come down on top of an intricate metal locket. It had to be resilient, it had withstood Naruto's fury without a dent or scratch.

Naruto scooped up the locket in his hand, inspecting it closely. Something seemed...familiar about it. No...it was much more than familiar. It felt special, like a lost part of him. The very act of touching it calm him, gave him a warm, almost nostalgic feeling.

"H-Hey...what...is this?"

Tsubaki peered over Naruto, looking at the locket in his hand.

"Ah yes, the young lady was clutching that to her chest even after she fell unconscious. I don't really know how she mustered the strength..."

Naruto looked over to Hinata, letting his eyes close. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes once more, a small smile on his face. With the utmost care, Naruto placed the locket in Hinata's hand, then clasped his own hand around hers and the locket.

"You...you can do it Hinata. I...I know you can live through this. But I'm sure that...that you're thinking it's hopeless. I know that you always think you're weak, but...dammit, Hinata, you're not weak!! You always listen to your father, to Neji, to Kiba, to Shino, to Kurenai...everybody who tells you that it's okay to quit, that it's okay to admit defeat because sometimes you're not strong enough."

Naruto clutched Hinata's hand more tightly, his eyes now staring down at her closed eyes.

"Well now I'm telling you to listen to me. It's not okay for you to give up, and it's not okay for you to run. If you don't believe in yourself, and then give up and die...I'll never forgive you! Do you hear me!? Never!!"

Naruto stopped himself, he had just understood he was yelling at somebody who couldn't even answer back. She may not have even been able to hear him, but Naruto prayed that his words reached her. Removing his hand from hers, Naruto gently closed Hinata's fingers around the locket, smiling softly.

"So stop putting yourself down so much, then hurry up and recover. We still have a mission to complete. You promised that we'd see this through, and that we'd blow this mission out of the water. Don't you dare go back on your word..."

Naruto removed his hand from Hinata's, grabbing the stick beside him to stand up. He stopped dead when he heard clapping behind him.

"Hehehe...I haven't heard a speech like that since I last saw Arashi...but the real question is if your words reach her isn't it? But for now, do you feel better?"

Naruto turned, nodding.

"Yes...sorry for earlier. I just...hehe, okay, I got carried away."

Tsubaki waved a dismissive hand.

"Ah, no problem. Now come, dinner is almost ready, and we have plenty to discuss. Follow me to the kitchen."

Naruto, finding it much easier to walk, walked behind Tsubaki with minimal aid from the stick. As the two left the room, there was a stir, and a hand enclosed upon a small metal object moved upwards, settling upon it's owners chest. A small smile made it's way onto the pale face, and then the girl was still once more.

"Naruto-kun..."

XxXxX

"Ah, sit where ever you like Naruto."

"Yeah...thanks."

Naruto took a seat at the small, square table in the center of the kitchen. It was a small room about the size of a walk in closet, walls jammed with a stove and a storage cabinet coming off of one side. For such a big house, the kitchen was rather...small.

Tsubaki sat down opposite of Naruto, placing before him a meat stew. Naruto, only now realizing that he was starved, dug right in, pausing only briefly to say "Itadakimasu."

Tsubaki chuckled slightly, slowly eating his own dinner.

"Such ferocious eating, reminds me of Arashi when he got too close to ramen...you know this'll sound like nonsense to you, but you really do remind this old man of an old friend."

Naruto finished chewing his mouthful of beef, setting the bowl down for the moment.

"I wanted to ask you about that. You've been mentioning this Arashi person ever since I woke up. Who was he?"

Tsubaki gave a long sigh, eyes tilted upward.

"He was a dear friend I had the pleasure of crossing paths with...ah, perhaps some twenty odd years ago. It was during the great fire-earth wars, a turbulent time. Well, anyway I remember quite clearly the day I met him, since he and his squad came blasting through my front door."

Tsubaki paused, sipping his tea nonchalantly.

"He was Konoha, I could tell by his jacket. His squad was nothing more than a bunch of kids...well anyway, at the time I was operating a hospital for both sides of the war. I really didn't care who I treated, I just wanted to stunt the loss of life."

Tsubaki let out a harsh cough, sipping his tea again.

"I'm sorry, youth has long ago left me behind. So anyway..ah yes, so he came in with two well children and one who seemed already dead. Left eye torn out, half his body crushed, in all honesty the boy had a three percent survival rate. As I was treating the boy, I came to be good friends with Arashi, he was a kind and gentle man. That is, until somebody threatened his people, then he became a god of battle. The finest warrior I'd ever seen."

"Even so, one day, the boy I was treating was just gone. Vanished in the dead of night. Arashi was crushed of course, but he left soon after, returning to the front lines. I didn't see him again until after the war, when he would come to visit. We would talk about all manner of things. Of my past, and of his. Of my long lost family, of his relationship with Suzu. Of life, of death. He was indeed a dear friend."

Naruto cocked his head in confusion.

"Is he dead? You keep saying stuff like "was."

Tsubaki looked up, shaking his head.

"I'm not sure. The last time we talked was around 16 years ago, he had come to tell me the news about how his son was to be born soon. I remember that glint in his eyes, I had only seen it thrice before. When he defeated the Iwakage and ended the Fire-Earth wars, when he became engaged to Suzu, and when he told me that he had been selected to become the next Hokage."

Naruto, who had been in mid sip, dropped his cup, a dull thud echoing as it hit the mats below.

"No way...Arashi was...the Fourth!?!"

Tsubaki raised an eyebrow.

"Does that surprise you? I know that most would only refer to him as Yondaime, but have you never heard his name?"

Naruto gave a nod.

"Yeah, I had never heard his name before."

Naruto stopped, then hung his head.

"Well, let me say, Yondaime is dead. He...he died, fighting the Kyuubi..."

Tsubaki gave small gasp, but then chuckled, much to Naruto's surprise.

"Fighting a demon to protect all he loved...yes, that sounds just like Arashi. And so what did he do? I'm guessing that he used the Death God Sealing Jutsu he invented?"

"How did you-"

"When I was fixing you up, I saw the seal on your body. I wasn't sure, but this confirms it. The Kyuubi was sealed within you, was it not?"

Naruto stared at the floor, giving a small nod.

"I see. Well then I have nothing more to say on the subject. You are a guest in my house, having a demon seal makes me think no less of you."

Naruto stared up at Tsubaki, who now hung his head, hands clasped together in prayer.

"It's a little late old friend, but I pray for your safe journey. May we meet in the next life."

Naruto clasped his hands together as well, silently praying to his idol.

"May you find solace...Arashi Uzumaki."

Naruto looked up, he could not believe what he had just heard.

"Uzu...maki?"

**XxXxX**

**And that's it for this chapter! Yeah, I really couldn't have a story where Naruto doesn't find out Yondaime is his father. I just can't.**

**Also, if you think that Hinata is just going to pop back up in a chapter or two, you're wrong. This little incident will affect most of the story from here on out.**

**Also, I'm really, really, really sorry for how long it's taking me to update. I'm suffering from writers block on a massive scale, I can't even write any other stories. I got over it enough to write this, but I have no idea when the next chapter will be out. Sorry.**


	8. An Unwilling Truce

Disclaimer: Ok so...yeah, me no own Naruto. Me make no profit off Naruto. Me only write Naruto fan fiction for entertainment purposes. Me do this to dodge nasty lawyers.

**A/N: Wow, I've kept you guys in the dark with no updates for far to long. I apologize. I have no excuses this time besides my own laziness. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me. I'll try to be better about updates in the future.**

**Ok, so this is chapter 8. I'm trying to get these two to the town they have to guard ASAP, so please work with me. They will get there soon, trust me.**

**For now, sit back and read...**

**Sidenote, I've uploaded chapter Nine along with this, consider it as an apology for making you wait so long. Go ahead and check that out after this.**

_Special Thanks to my beta, who's skills have made my works all that more readable. Give a shout out to Narai Moroha in your reviews, he deserves it._

Chapter 8: An Unwilling Truce

The mood was tense, the air frozen. Naruto stared on in shock, his heartbeat ringing in his ears. Limbs frozen, all Naruto could do was sit and stare at the man who had just uttered those words.

It couldn't be, no way. It just wasn't possible. No way could Yondaime be his...be his-!

A crash...no, not a crash, an explosion shook the ground that Naruto sat on, causing him to fall down on his side. Naruto snapped back into reality, turning to Tsubaki.

"W-What was that!?"

Tsubaki tensed, hurrying over to fetch his walking stick.

"I'm not sure, but it came in the direction of your friend's room. We must--!"

Naruto sped past Tsubaki, bolting down the halls towards Hinata's room. When he arrived, he took a quick breath, sliding open the door to her room.

A drop of water fell on him, and Naruto gasped, looking around him. The entire room had been blown away, nothing but fragments of the caved in roof, splintered walls and broken floor were still seen. Naruto looked around in the wreckage, searching for Hinata.

"Are you looking for something?"

Naruto froze, tilting his head upward and peering forward. It was hard to make out in the dark sky and heavy rain, but he could somewhat make out ten or twelve shapes, standing spread out a few meters from where the room once was. With a growl, Naruto ran from the wreckage, moving towards the figures.

"Not so fast there runt! After all, you wouldn't want your girlfriend here to get hurt, would you?"

Naruto stalled, his feet planting into the mud below him. Looking forward, Naruto could now clearly see the forms of twelve bandits, the farthest one from him holding a small sword to an unconscious Hinata's throat.

"H-Hinata!"

The bandit nearest Naruto, a dark skinned women with long, messy black hair sneered at him, her hand loosely holding a small dagger.

"So you see the situation you're in? Good, then this'll make things much easier. Come with us now, or the girl dies."

Naruto ground his teeth, a growl of frustration echoing from him. Even so, he dared not move. Hinata couldn't defend herself at the moment, and she was too far away for him to get there in time.

"Hahaha, I see that you Gajuken thugs are still as low as ever..."

Naruto lifted his head with wide eyes, turning towards Tsubaki, who was standing at his side.

The women who had been sneering a few seconds earlier seemed almost afraid now, perspiration rolling down her face.

"...Stay out of this, Earthquake. This doesn't concern you. Gajuken only wants the Konoha shinobi."

Naruto turned first to the women, then to Tsubaki, then to her again.

Earthquake? Why had she called Tsubaki such a thing?

"Normally, you would be correct...but that's my patient you have there. It'd be quite kind of you to hand her over."

One of the thugs, a thin man wearing a mask and a long coat grabbed his mace, taking a step forward. The women turned around in a flash, glaring daggers at the attacker.

"Don't move a muscle. That old man could slaughter you in an instant! And don't forget the kid either. He took out those two Iwa Jounin by himself. We need to negotiate this."

It looked like Tsubaki was going to speak again, but Naruto didn't give him the chance. He needed to ask, he needed to know.

"Are you saying that you...that you're the ones who..."

A flare of chakra issued forth from Naruto, causing the surrounding trees to rustle.

"Are you saying that you sent those Jounin after us?"

The women turned to Naruto. Her sneer was no longer on her face, she was dead serious now.

"That's right, brat. We though they would be more than enough for you two. Well, we got the girl at least, so their lives were worth it."

"How dare you toy with people's lives..."

The women stared back at Naruto, somewhat afraid of the red chakra beginning to pour out of him.

"W-What the hell are you talking about!?"

"Sending those people after us, forcing peaceful people to fight, injuring Hinata, then using her as a hostage!!"

Naruto clenched his fists, waves of red chakra pouring from him. This time the reverberation was felt by the people present as well, and a few of the thugs shrunk back, afraid of the massive killing intent oozing from Naruto.

"...Hey, you wanna know something?"

Naruto lifted his head, red, slitted eyes staring back at the bandits.

"_**...You're all about to die.**_"

The thug in the back gave a laugh, pointing his blade right at Hinata's throat.

"I don't think so kid. I've still got this girl here and if you don't stand down I'm gonna--!"

Before the man finished his sentence Naruto was gone, and just as quick he was beside the man, having moved past the crowd of bandits between him and Hinata in an instant.

The bandit instinctively moved his hand to attack Naruto, only to find that his dagger had left his hand, Naruto now held it within his.

Two quick slashes, and the thug lost his hand then his arm, screaming as Hinata fell out of his severed limbs. Naruto snatched Hinata from the air, turning and delivering a Sakura strength punch to the thug's head, sending him flying back into a tree. His neck snapped like a twig, and he fell to the earth, very much dead.

Turning on the spot, Naruto was gone once more, and two more thugs lost their heads, bodies collapsing to the ground. Naruto clenched his fists, the stolen sword in his hand shattering with explosive force. His chakra was coming out in waves now, the surrounding flora blowing away as though caught in a hurricane.

The remaining thugs, save two identically dressed one flanking the girl, all charged at Naruto full speed, weapons drawn. Naruto calmly turned to them, moving his fingers into a familiar sign.

"_**Kage Bunshin no jutsu!!!**_" 

A clone appeared for each charging thug, and then they were off. A few flashes and screams later, the clones dissipated, leaving the thugs in various positions on the ground, all dead, a few missing limbs or just sliced enough to bleed to death.

Naruto gave a growl, turning to the girl.

"_**Alright bitch, you're next. That is, unless you want to beg for your life...**_"

The two men on either side of the women turned, unsheathing their swords simultaneously, glaring daggers at Naruto.

"How dare you insult Isumi-sama!! We'll grind you into dust!"

Just as the little speech ended, Naruto was gone, now standing next to the left bodyguard, hand on the thug's shoulder. The other two gasped, taking an involuntary step back. Naruto grinned, crushing the man's neck with little effort. He fell to the ground like the others.

While in his temporary state of shock, the other bodyguard had no time to react as Naruto drew a Kunai, twirled it in his hand for a second, and threw it at the man's head. It hit dead center between his eyes, killing him instantly. Naruto appeared beside the man, withdrawing his Kunai from the bloody skull.

"N...No...N-No!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, turning to Isumi. She was shaking, eyes wide and full of carnal fear.

"N-No!! You...You're not like him...you're not a monster like he said...no...you're a...a Demon!!"

Naruto grinned, holding his Kunai so that the tip pointed towards Summit's throat.

"_**Yeah, I am a demon. A rather blood thirsty demon at that. The brat gave me complete control, on the condition that I didn't hurt this girl here. Now...**_"

Naruto closed in on the women, her mind still too blown away by shock to move away.

"_**Normally I would let you go, so that you may draw other idiots here for me to kill, and the fact that it would be fun to hunt you down afterwards. But you see, I only get a chance like this once in a great while. So I think...I'LL JUST DESTROY YOU!!!!**_"

Kyuubi Naruto smashed his fist into the women's face, her skull shattering at the impact of his blow. Her face caved inward, and his fist came out the back of her head. With a grin, Kyuubi Naruto withdrew his arm, watching in amusement as the body fell to the mud, blood issuing forth rapidly.

"**Ah...such a shame I couldn't enjoy this even more. Ah well, for now I've slaked my thirst...yes, he's already trying to suppress me once more. Alas, some day I'll get him too...**"

The deep voice faded, and then Naruto stood still for a minute or two. Then, with no no warning, He vigorously shook his head, his eyes returning to their deep blue. Naruto gave a gasp, then righted his posture, taking in deep breaths.

"gah...hah...man...I didn't expect him to cause this much destruction...I almost feel sorry for them..."

Tsubaki looked on calmly, his eyes sweeping over Naruto, analyzing him.

"My, my...the power of a demon, eh? Never thought I'd see such blood-thirsty slaughter again..."

Naruto gave a sigh, looking down at Hinata.

"Good...you're ok..."

But he could tell just from her white face that she was far from ok. She needed to get back to a bed, and fast.

"Ossan, I know that it's rude of me to ask you a favor now, especially since it was due to us that part of your house was destroyed, but could you excuse me for a second? I need to get Hinata to a bed."

Tsubaki gave a nod.

"Not a problem, not a problem. Shall I show you another room she could stay in?"

Naruto shook his head.

"No...I can't let this happen again. She'll stay in my room. I'll let her sleep in the bed, I'll just set up a cot across the room."

Tsubaki would have scolded any other boy for making such an outrageous declaration, but he could tell many things about Naruto, including his utter lack of...well, insight. The boy wouldn't do anything to the girl because the thought would never even cross his mind.

Naruto turned on his heels, marching towards his room. He shuffled his way down the hall, each step harder than the last.

"Damn it, you stupid fox...that speed boost totally fried my legs...I can hardly walk!"

A satisfied fox growled within him, giving a laugh.

"**Don't be a baby. It'll heal in an hour or two, you know that."**

With a curse, Naruto finally reached his room, sliding the door open. He moved to the center of the room, placing Hinata onto the bed on the floor. He looked over her face, touching his hands to hers. Naruto gave a frustrated growl.

Her face was almost translucent now, ghost white as though she was already dead. She was also ice cold, only a small heartbeat issuing from her chest.

Naruto cursed, clasping his hand around hers as if his heat would transfer to her.

"Dammit, Hinata...don't you..don't you have anything left?!"

A small clink, and Naruto looked down. The hand he had been holding was actually a fist, enclosed around a small metal locket. Naruto gave a small gasp.

She still had strength. Even if it was only enough to cling desperately to a locket, she had strength left.

She was alive.

"**But she won't be for long. I can already tell it's too late..."**

Naruto looked inward, starting a conversation with the Kyuubi.

"What do you mean it's too late!? How can you even say that!?!"

The Kyuubi gave an annoyed huff.

"**Perhaps you don't know this, but what heals wounds is chakra in the blood. That chakra is concentrated to areas that need it to heal, and over time the wound dissipates."**

"**However, Hyuuga normally have lower chakra reserves. This is why their technique is based so much on control. While linked to their Byakugan, it also has to do with their naturally low chakra reserves."**

Naruto bit his lip.

"Meaning?!"

"**Meaning this girl has too many injuries and not enough chakra. Her low chakra is stretched too far, and so she can't effectively heal her wounds. In a word, she'd dying, only slowly."**

Naruto slammed his fist into the floor, gritting his teeth in raw anger. Here before him was yet another of his comrades, and they were about to die. Once again, he was watching it happen again, he was losing somebody and he had no control over it...

Just like last time...

Just like before...

Just like Sasuke...

"NO!! I won't...I won't lose anybody important to me ever again! I don't care if I have to kill myself to do it, I won't lose anybody else!!"

Naruto moved closer to Hinata, unzipping her jacket. The Kyuubi, even being an all powerful demon, was taken slightly aback. Naruto then slid up her shirt and mesh, so that her stomach was visible.

"**Um...Kit? What exactly are you doing? Not that I'm against this, but it really had nothing to do with what you were talking abo--"**

"Shut up you perverted fox!! I'm doing nothing like that. I just need skin contact for this, and the bellybutton is the best place for it."

As the Kyuubi contemplated, he watched as Naruto rolled up his sleeve, taking in a breath. Suddenly, he felt the brat trying to draw on his power. The red chakra flowed to his arm, where Naruto controlled and contorted it all into his finger.

"**W-Wait kit, what are you doing with my power?"**

Naruto gave a ghost of a smile.

"Simple, I'm just giving Hinata a little help."

Naruto pressed his finger into Hinata's bellybutton, connecting the tenketsu on his fingertip with the one that lay directly over her main chakra coil. Slowly, Naruto transferred some of the Kyuubi's chakra into Hinata, the red chakra slowly working its way into her system. Once all the power he had put in the finger had been transferred, Naruto gave a sigh of relief, removing his finger and fixing Hinata's clothing.

"**I see...quite clever kit. You've given her extra chakra, and my chakra to boot. That'll rejuvenate her fairly well."**

Naruto was about to ask if this were true, but he already had his answer. Even as he looked over to her, Hinata's strained breathing had calmed, and her ghostly white skin had gained a tinge of pink. Naruto placed a finger on her wrist, and felt her heartbeat pick up.

Also, there was the one thing that made Naruto the happiest – her skin was slightly warmer. Warmth meant life, and life meant that he had prevented her from dying.

Naruto fell back onto his behind, panting heavily.

"Damn..."

"**Dumb kit. You're still healing yourself, you need all the chakra you can get. You've slowed your own recovery time."**

Naruto gave a short laugh.

"Hah...don't worry...I'll be better...hah..after a..hah..good, hah...nights...sle..slee...sleeeeeep..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Naruto fell forward onto his stomach, his eyes closing. There he fell asleep, his hands still cupped around Hinata's...

XxXxX

Naruto opened his eyes, looking up into the demon Kyuubi's eyes. Naruto gave a sigh, standing up in his mind to face the fox.

"Could we not do this tonight? I really don't feel up to it..."

The Kyuubi gave a grunt of annoyance.

"**I didn't call you here to fight, kit. I called you here so that we may come to an agreement."**

Naruto cocked his head.

"Agreement?"

"**Yes, an agreement. A truce, if you will. I've been thinking about this since those Iwa ninja attacked us, and now I'm sure of it."**

The Kyuubi took a breath, wincing as though what he was about to say was going to causing him to vomit.

"**You and I...need to work together..."**

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but refrained from commenting. If the Kyuubi himself wanted to work together, then he knew it was a serious topic.

"Alright..." Naruto said as he sat down again, "What do you propose?"

The Kyuubi regarded Naruto with a cool gaze.

"**You need my power, that much is obvious. But I need to kill kit. I need to fight, to draw blood, because it's in my nature. Tonight was the first time in months I'd been allowed to tear lose and kill to my hearts content. We both need each other, as much as it wounds my pride to say.**

"**We should permanently mesh some of my chakra with yours. That way, you always have instant access to my power, and you can draw upon it more easily. In that way, you have my power, but you're in control."**

Naruto liked the idea, but there had to be a catch.

"And what do I need to do to help you?"

The Kyuubi gave a toothy grin.

"**In times of peril, or when you have a genuine intent to kill, you will hand control over to me, and allow me to slaughter all in my path – and I know!!" **The Kyuubi raised his voice as Naruto opened his mouth to speak. **"I know all about that 'don't hurt my friends crap,' and I'll do as you ask. So, will you agree?"**

Naruto thought for a moment, then grinned.

"So an alliance that neither of us want?"

The Kyuubi nodded. **"Yes, but one that we both need."**

Naruto smiled.

"An unwilling truce. Alright Kyuubi, you have a deal. Now how do I mesh my chakra with your's?"

The Kyuubi gave a grunt, and red chakra began to leak from the cage.

"**Come closer to the cage, this'll take some time..."**

Naruto nodded, walking straight into the swirling red chakra, a grin planted on his face...

XxXxX

Hinata opened her eyes, looking at the room around her.

No...no it wasn't a room. It was more like...a black hole. It had to be something similar to that effect, as she was the only figure in the black abyss that stretched on for as long as she could see. Hinata took a step back, panic beginning to well up in her. Where was she? And where was Naruto-kun?

"**Ah, so your consciousness has finally awoke. Face me girl."**

Hinata jumped, turning slowly to face the voice. The sight that greeted her almost made her faint right there.

Before here stood a demon. A giant, orange demon in the shape of a fox spouting nine tails. It's black lined eyes regarded her, red pupils piercing more than the Byakugan ever could. The demon was huge, many times as large as her. Its tails flicked around it's form, and a small pulse of red chakra issued forth from its form.

As she gazed into the creatures eyes, she felt herself relax. Even though she was staring down a giant, bloodthirsty demon, she was relaxed. This was because there was no killing intent coming from the demon. It's eyes weren't gentle, but there weren't threatening either. Just a neutral stare.

"**As you can see, I've been able to restore your self, however I've yet to rebuild your internal world, much less the rest of your body."**

Hinata gave a start. She had no idea what the thing was talking about.

"**Don't worry however, you'll be healed by the morning. Your fighting abilities will be seriously hampered for a week or two, but you'll be able to stand up and walk.**"

Hinata bowed her head, stammering out her thanks. Even if she didn't know what this thing was, or how it got there, it was obvious it was helping her.

"**Heh, don't thank me. Thank that Uzumaki brat. He's the one who brought me to you. Under normal circumstances, I would have ravaged your mind for the fun of it, but I don't want to face that brat if I did that. He would never let me out again...not that I'm afraid of him or anything..."**

Hinata looked up, letting a small gasp escape her.

"N...Naruto-kun...sent y-you?"

The Kyuubi looked down at the girl for a second, then nodded.

"**Indeed...now..."**

The Kyuubi took a step forward, its tails sweeping over Hinata's form.

"**Rest now, and when you awake you will be healed."**

Hinata fell into a deep sleep, feeling the image of the great fox slip away. As it did, she smiled.

Naruto-kun had saved her...

**Hey there!! Gah!! **

**[Dodges behind desk "Please, please don't point those at me!! I'm sorry! I promise to never take this long to update again! So please, take pity on me!!"**

**Actually, I opened this up a day ago to finish it, to find that half the chapter had been erased for some reason. Irritating me to no end, I rewrote it. I actually think it's better this time, so please enjoy. I've already started on the next chapter, so it'll be out soon. I promise.**


	9. Departure

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Yeah, hard to believe huh? But no, I own nothing like Naruto. Perhaps that's why I don't make any money off this. Yeah, I'm a poor ass bastard. Ah well, such is life...

**A/N: Alright, I'm sure you weren't expecting this! To make up for my long absence, I'm releasing not one, but two chapters at the same time! I hope this'll somewhat make up for my laziness. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

**A slight note, Ossan means "Old man" in Japanese, Naruto is using this instead of Tsubaki's name, much like he does with Ichiraku.**

_Special Thanks to my beta, who's skills have made my works all that much more readable. Give a shout out to Narai Moroha in your reviews, he deserves it._

Chapter 9: Departures and Thank Yous

As the sun rose over the horizon, a faint ray of sunlight made its way through the window, landing on a certain Hyuuga heiress's face. She gave a stir, her body shuddering, as if to try to hold on to sleep. However the sunlight had its way, and a few moments later Hinata Hyuuga slowly opened her eyes.

Looking around, Hinata lifted her head a fraction, closing and reopening her eyes to do away with some of the blurriness. Groggily, she lifted her head up more to wake herself up.

It was then she registered the warmth on her hand.

Looking over Hinata turned to her hand, only to feel her face grow red hot. She stared on, eyes wide at the site before her.

Naruto was asleep, curled up into a ball beside her bed, his hands clasped around her right hand. He was still sleeping peacefully, a small smile fixed on his face.

"N...Naruto-kun?"

Hinata whispered his name as loud as she could manage, but even a dog would have had to strained to hear the words. She gave an audible gulp, lying back down in the bed. When she was calm enough, Hinata glanced back at Naruto.

He was still wearing the clothing from when the two of them had gotten attacked, and now it looked even dirtier, like he had just stood out in the rain again. There was mud caked on his zori, and his jacket was covered with what looked like dried blood. The appearance he took on made it apparent that he had stayed with her the whole night.

But his hands...his hands that were holding on to her were spotless, clean, soft, and...warm. At first his touch had scared her, but now it was relaxing. She had always wanted to feel the warmth of his hands against hers...

"_N-Naruto-kun...stayed with me? Oh, Naruto-kun..."_

Then again, Naruto had stayed with her all night, but where had they stayed? Hinata looked around to realize that this bed was not hers, nor was the room. Just where was she?

The ever rising sun now fully peaked over the window sill, what remained dark in the room was now bathed in sunlight, including Naruto. His body gave a stir, and slowly, Naruto lifted his head to look groggily up at Hinata.

"Hina...ta?"

Naruto sat up fully, rubbing his eyes rather slowly. When he pulled his fists away and opened his eyes, he once again gazed upon the awakened form of Hinata.

Then a great smile erupted onto his face, and Naruto wrapped his arms around her in a powerful glomp.

"Hinata!! Hinata, you're alive!! You're alive!! Thank God...thank God you're okay!!"

Hinata couldn't respond, all her willpower was being massed to her brain to stop herself from fainting on the spot. When she realized that if he held onto her one more second, she would pass out, Naruto let go, smiling brightly at Hinata.

"Heh, sorry about that, it's just..."

Naruto hesitated for a second, shifting his gaze, before his eyes returned to staring into Hinata's.

"I'm really glad...that I didn't lose you, Hinata."

While Hinata was no longer in danger of fainting, Naruto's last statement sent her through a loop, leaving her at a loss for words.

"Ano...uh...N-Na...uh..."

"Thanks for not going back on your word."

Hinata looked up, blushing at the expression on his face.

"W-What?"

Naruto tiled his head slightly, his smile widening.

"You promised to see this mission through, and you've yet to go back on those words. So I'm glad...thanks for living, Hinata."

Hinata was stunned. He was thanking her for being alive? How could she-?

"T-Thank you...Naruto-kun..."

Naruto kept his head tilted, losing his smile. Now he was just confused.

"Huh? Why are you thanking me?"

Hinata looked down, tapping her fingers together in an old habit she had thought she lost.

"W-Well...without you...I...I most likely wouldn't have...woken up."

"Wha—...Hinata, what are you—?"

"Ah, good morning. Glad to see you conscious."

Hinata tore her gaze away from the floor, looking up to find the source of the voice. What stood before her was a much older man, bald head and long, silver-gray beard. His face was calm, his expression delighted.

"...Um...W-Who are—?"

Naruto smiled, pointing at Tsubaki with one hand while putting the other on Hinata's shoulder. Her blush, having finally faded, only flared up once more.

"This is Tsubaki-ossan, the guy who helped us after that battle. He took us back to this house and healed us both, It's safe to assume we'd both be dead now without him."

Hinata looked over at Naruto, a bit thrown. Battle?

Yes...there was a battle wasn't there? She remembered fighting that one women, she had been winning against her too, she was about to finish her when out of the corner of her eye she had seen...

"Ahh! The locket, wh-where's the locket!?"

Naruto jumped back a few paces, scared half to death by Hinata's sudden outburst.

"H-Hinata, don't worry. It's still in your hand..."

"Huh? M-my hand?"

Looking down, Hinata saw that her right hand was clutched into a fist, and when she uncurled her hand she found the metal locket, lying safely in her hand.

Hinata blew out a relieved sigh, holding the locked just above her chest. It was safe...

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Did you grab the stuff from our tent when you rescued us?"

Hinata snapped back to the present, looking up. Naruto had just inquired about something to to Tsubaki.

"Ah, yes I did manage to collect a few things from the ruins. Both your packs were unharmed, and a small wooden box containing a journal was saved as well. There were various weapons that were lying in the remains, I grabbed those as well."

Naruto smiled, putting his hands behind his head.

"Alright! Thanks ossan!"

Tsubaki waved a hand of dismissal.

"Yes, yes, it was no trouble at all..."

Tsubaki looked over Hinata once, raising an eyebrow.

"She seems fine, but I'm worried about the speed of her recovery. Naruto, I'm going to have to examine your friend, so please go take a bath while you wait. I'll be finished up by the time you're done."

Naruto gave a nod, waving one last time to Hinata before running out of the room. Tsubaki nodded, turning once more.

"So, I take it your name's Hinata? That boy's screamed it enough for me to pick up..."

Hinata gave an unsure nod.

"Y-Yes..."

"Alright, now if you could please, stand up for me."

Hinata nodded, moving her body to stand. As she moved onto her bent knees, she felt a sharp pain move up her body, causing her to grunt as she raised herself up to her feet.

"Yes...you're still rather weak. That's not surprising."

Walking up to Hinata, Tsubaki began to look over her, checking wounds that had until the night before been left deep into her skin.

"I apologize for this, but I must look you over. The speed of your recovery is mind boggling, it was a miracle you survived at the least, it should have taken weeks to heal. Yet in a single night..."

Satisfied, Tsubaki stood up fully, putting his hand to his chin.

"Do you by any chance have an idea as to how you've recovered so fast?"

Hinata let a small gasp escape her, and she turned her head, thinking hard. She really didn't know herself.

Then again, there was that dream. Hinata did recall having a strange dream, a fox, it had spoken to her, told her that it would heal her, and told her that Naruto-kun had been the one too...

"Um...well...there...no, I'm not sure..."

Tsubaki raised an eyebrow, as if skeptical, but then broke into a gentle smile, nodding his head.

"Very well. It seems I have to have a talk with Naruto once he is finished with his bath. Now, about your condition..."

Tsubaki put a hand to her stomach, closing his eyes for a second.

"You seem okay, okay enough to stand at least. You'll be able to move about, preform normal tasks, however your skills as a shinobi will be seriously weakened for a good week or so. I'm sorry to say that you'll only be a liability to Naruto, at least for a while."

Before Hinata could respond, Tsubaki dropped his hand, moving to leave the room.

"But don't fret. That boy's very kind, he won't hold it against you that you will not be able to fight. He cares too much for you to let such a simple thing disturb him..."

Hinata looked away. Naruto, care for her?

Tsubaki smiled at the timid Hyuuga. He had to fight back a laugh, this girl was such an easy read. Naruto had to REALLY thick...

XxXxX

Naruto gave a satisfied sigh, stepping out of the bath. He hadn't had a proper bath in days, it was nice to get all the mud, grime...and blood, off his person.

Changing into a new set of clothing he had found in his bag, Naruto slid open the door to the bath, stepping out into the hallway with a bright smile on his face. Naruto walked up to his room, sliding the door open to find Hinata sitting on the bed, cheeks still slightly red. Naruto walked over, concerned.

"Hey Hinata, did Ossan say you were ok?"

Hinata gave a start, looking up at Naruto nervously.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun. I'm fine..well, a-almost..."

Naruto frowned, bending down so that he was eye level with Hinata.

"Almost? What do you mean by that? Do you still have a fever, cause you look kinda warm..."

Naruto placed his hand on Hinata's forehead, closing his eyes for a sec. If they had been open Naruto would have been greeted with the sight of an even redder Hinata.

"Well...you don't have a fever. Strange, your face looked a little red..."

"Uh...Um..y-yeah..."

Naruto removed his hand, standing up to lean against the wall.

"Anyway, You should use the bath now that I'm out, we need to get moving, since we're already behind schedule."

Hinata gave a shaky nod, moving to stand only to cry out in pain. Naruto was on her in an instant, using his arm to support her.

"Hinata!! Hinata, what's wrong!?"

Hinata shook her head, moving away from Naruto's arm.

"N-No...it's nothing...I c-can walk and...and stand b-but..."

Naruto relaxed his shoulders, letting out a held in breath.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just ask Ossan about it, now go relax."

Hinata gave another small nod, walking slowly from the room. Naruto followed her to the door, and when he was about to leave to find Tsubaki, he turned the corner towards the door.

"Whoa, Ossan! Sorry about that, didn't see you there..."

Tsubaki gave a small laugh.

"Ah, not a problem. But Naruto, do you have a minute? I'd like to talk with you."

At Naruto's nod, Tsubaki turned, motioning Naruto to follow him. He led them to a tea room, taking up position at one side of the table. Naruto sat opposite from him, nodding to Tsubaki as he did so.

"So what was it you needed?"

Tsubaki hesitated for a second, looking out the window.

"The rain's stopped..."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. He was being ignored.

"Um...Ossan?"

Tsubaki snapped back to reality, turning to Naruto.

"Ah yes, forgive me, that was quite rude. Now, what I wanted to talk to you about is Hyuuga Hinata's recovery."

Naruto shrugged.

"What about it?"

"It was extraordinarily fast, especially for a Hyuuga, who normally have low chakra reserves. There's no way that she could have recovered from such injuries in less than a span of a few weeks. At first, I was clueless, but then..."

Tsubaki paused to pick up the kettle next to him, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Then I examined her, and found traces of the Kyuubi's chakra within her chakra system."

Naruto nodded once, crossing his arms.

"Yeah that might have happened. You see last night Hinata was about to die, so I gave her some of the Kyuubi's chakra. It really worked didn't it? I just wanted it to keep her alive at the bare minimum, yet it totally healed her!"

Tsubaki slammed his hand down on the table, causing Naruto to jump.

"Do you have any idea what kind of danger you put that girl in!?! Do you have ANY idea as to what could have transpired if her body had rejected the chakra?! Her fate would have been worse than death!!"

Naruto flinched back on instinct. He hadn't expected Tsubaki to yell.

"Well yeah, but her body didn't reject the chakra..so it was all ok..."

"That is hardly the point!! You should not have acted so rashly. If she could have been saved simply by mean of a chakra transplant, don't you think I would have done it to start with!? chakra transplants are extremely dangerous! An ounce too much chakra, the patient undergoes a horrible fate, and too little causes the patient to die anyway!!"

Naruto put his hands behind his head, looking on with some interest.

"So? I knew that it was risky, but the fox told me how much to put in, and at what time, once it knew what I was attempting. Sorry, but I thought that a ten thousand year-old fox might know what it's doing..."

Tsubaki clenched his fist.

"And how did you know that the Kyuubi wasn't simply lying!? It is a vicious demon that only lives to kill, it could have simply been luring you into killing her!!!"

Naruto shrugged.

"Well...the Kyuubi has this strange code that it abides by to maintain it's pride. The Kyuubi has, to this date, never lied to me, so I guess I...trusted it."

The Kyuubi stirred within Naruto.

"**Hmph...dumb kit..."**

"You trusted it...you trusted a demon...I see. Then you really are more like Arashi than I thought."

Naruto gave a start. That was right, in all the commotion of last night, Naruto had forgotten all about that. About how Yondaime was his...

Tsubaki gave a long, drawn out sigh, leaning backwards and supporting himself with his hands.

"Yes...he would trust anybody. No matter what...he would never become suspicious, never turn his back on somebody in need. No, not a soul in the world..."

Naruto sustained his silence, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah...I had forgotten all that business...Arashi...my father..."

"I see, so you really are Uzumaki...it all makes sense. Of course, you're so similar to your father but...if I had known her, I would bet my hide that you would remind me of her too.

Naruto let out a sigh. He wasn't ready for this. This had meant to be a simple mission, but it was all getting so complicated.

"Hey...Ossan, can you...tell me...about him? Yondaime and...and my mother? I...don't know much about either of them..."

Tsubaki smiled warmly, leaning forward once again.

"Good times. Not the war, but the time afterwards. Love sprung up everywhere you looked, and the new generation came just as fast. Some call it the effects of peace..but I digress. I didn't know much about Suzu, just the stories that he told me...ah, but."

Tsubaki stood up, walking to a nearby jewelry box.

"He once showed me a photo of her. She was beautiful. Slender, sun-tanned form, cascading golden-blond hair tied back, yet still managed to reach down below her waist. And her eyes, yes, those blue, deep eyes. She could mesmerize Arashi for hours with them. I think Naruto, that you may have gotten those eyes of your's from her...ah!"

Withdrawing a dusty photo from the box, Tsubaki walked over slowly, placing the photo in his hand.

"This was taken a year or two before your birth. Both your father and mother are in the picture, as you can see."

Naruto took the picture from Tsubaki, looking it over.

The picture was dusty, the corners bent slightly. After wiping away some of the dust, Naruto could identify the two people in the photo. One was a carbon copy of himself, save the brown eyes, a spitting image of Yondaime's monument. He was holding a beautiful women in his arms, and Naruto turned to look at her next.

_Flash_

_Rain..._

_Flash_

_Locket..._

_Flash_

_Pain..._

_Flash_

_The girl..._

_Flash_

_The man..._

_Flash_

_Hinata..._

Naruto shook his head, panting slightly. For a second, the images flashing into his head..why had they-?

"Yes, beautiful aren't they? He could go on for hours about that girl..."

Naruto let the arm that held the picture fall to his side, his eyes staring off into nothing.

"I know that my Father died a hero but...how did my mother?"

Tsubaki sighed, looking mournfully over at Naruto.

"I honestly do not know, but I could take a guess. Suzu was so perfect, and yet her body was weak. She often collapsed, bruised easily, and when she began to bleed, she wouldn't stop until she was treated with Jutsu. Even if it was only a scratch..."

Tsubaki took a sip of tea, sighing.

"If anything, I would guess she died in childbirth. That seems the most logical."

Naruto clenched his fists. Yet another person who was lost, all because of him...

"Naruto?"

"No...it's nothing, forget it...me and Hinata...we should go. We need to get to Amerasu as soon as we can..."

Tsubaki looked as though he was going to say something, but chose not to. Instead he walked back to the wooden box, placing his hand on it lightly.

"Naruto...do you believe in destiny?"

Naruto looked up at Tsubaki, his face puzzled. Who was he, Neji?

"No...not at all."

Tsubaki didn't speak, just continued to tap the box lightly.

"Really...because I think it was your destiny to find me. It was your destiny to learn of your parents, and it was you destiny to uncover your past. I believe in destiny Naruto, a good hundred years of life have made me believe. I believe it's your destiny to find answers, and it is my destiny to give you all the answers I can."

From within the box, Tsubaki withdrew a small object. He threw it to Naruto, who caught it with one hand. Moving his arm downward, Naruto stared at the object.

"A...locket?"

It was indeed a locket. It looked similar to the one Hinata had, except his was charred black by a long lost flame.

"That was in your father's last letter to me. A locket he had since he was a child. When he met with Suzu, he was amazed to find that she also had one just like it..."

Tsubaki gave a small laugh, turning back to Naruto.

"That locket has a legend behind it. It is said that two of those exist in the world. They each choose one person, and only that person can wear the locket. You see these lockets are said to be special. The two who wear these lockets will have their destinies intertwined for all their lives."

"This is for you, Naruto. I don't know if it'll be of any help, but I think that you were destined to have it.

Naruto clenched his hand around the locket, squeezing it tightly.

He would protect the possession of his father. That was all that mattered to him...

XxXxX

"All dead? I see...then that means we'll have to step up our game."

"Um...what do you suggest?"

"Assassination. I'm tired of these direct battles. Kill them from the shadows, before they even have a chance to retaliate."

"Yes, as you wish."

"We must finish them...if _**he **_comes back before the town is ours...we're screwed. Now get to work! Set up an assassination, use our best men! I don't even want the bodies left to find. Finish and burn them. Got it!?"

"Y-Yes, dono!"

"My my..we're in trouble if we don't get results soon...we better kill these bastards, and fast..."

XxXxX

"Thanks a lot Ossan! If it weren't for you...I don't think Hinata or I would be here."

Hinata nodded. "Yes...T-Thank you for the help..."

Tsubaki gave a laugh.

"No trouble, always good to have company. Now, please come by again sometime, I'd love to here your own stories, and I'd love to see the son of my best friend back once again."

Naruto gave a start, but eased back into a calm smile.

"Yeah...I'll come back. I promise."

"A deal then. So, you'll want to head to the west, a mile or so, and you'll see the village."

Naruto gave a nod, waving one last time to Tsubaki as he and Hinata departed the house.

"See ya later, Ossan!!"

Once Tsubaki was out of sight, Naruto turned to Hinata, a bright smile on his face.

"Well then, let's go!"

Hinata smiled giving a nod.

"Y-Yes!"

Naruto gave a nod, turning back to the road ahead of him.

"Alright then, let's go!"

He and Hinata set off at a quick pace, Naruto's hand gravitating to his chest. There was the necklace, given to him by Tsunade. And, also around his neck, a charred black locket. He felt the locket through his shirt, and gave a smile.

This mission wasn't over yet...

**Part One: The Legacy, End**

**A/N: So, that's that for this chapter! So, I know that last part made it sound like the fic was over, but it isn't. You see this fic is broken up into three parts, "The Legacy", "Town of the Full Moon", and "Love's Forte." These three parts consist of Hinata's Confidence.**

**So, as stated in the latest Manga chapter SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER!!! Naruto really is Yondaime's son. Also, it is revealed that Yondaime's name is Namikaze Minato, and Naruto's mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina. However, I've already given them names, and so these names will stay in this fic. Also, let me just gloat for one second.**

**HA!! HE _WAS_ NARUTO'S FATHER!! STICK THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT YOU DISBELIVERS!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!**

**Ok...I'm done. Sorry, but I've wanted to know for so long, and now I know that Naruto is Yondaime's son, I'm a little overjoyed.**

**Ok, so once again, sorry for not updating in so long. I promise to do a better job with the updating. Well, see you in chapter 10!**


	10. A MESSAGE TO ALL READERS

**A MESSAGE TO THE READERS!!!!**

Hey, this is Kazukagi, the author of Hinata's Confidence. This is not a new chapter, this is an important message to the readers.

Lately, I've been getting reviews stating that they would have liked it better if I had kept the original names and appearances of Naruto's parents. My reason for not adapting the latest two chapters to that was because I had already stated Yondaime's name (Arashi) in Chapter 7, and Naruto's mother's appearance in the locket picture in the flashback. As a result, I strayed from the cannon.

As such, I'd like to put this to vote before I write the next chapter. Do you want me to go back and fix it so that the parents stick to the Cannon, or just leave it as is? Do note that voting for me to go back and fix will not effect the waiting time for the next chapter.

**Please send a PM with ONE of the following to messages.**

**Please put ONLY THE WORD "Yes" In a PM if you want me to go back and change.  
**

**Please put ONLY THE WORD "No" In a PM if you DON'T want me to go back and change  
**

That ends my urgent message, however don't leave me yet. Since I've been getting some reviews that differ from the usual "Update" or "I like it," or "I didn't like it" I'm going to answer some of the comments I deem worthy of an answer. enjoy

First off, let me apologize for the message I put at the end of chapter nine. Please belive me that I'm normally very tolerant of other people's beliefes. Being a left wing Atheist, I've taken a lot of flack for my beliefs. However, I was in a very...estatic, mood that Yondaime had been announced by Masashi himself as Naruto's father. I got a bit carried away. I apologize if I offended anybody.

Now, Time for review responses!

**Jeppe7: **You've sent me a fair share of nice reviews, so let me answer as best as I can. First off, glad you like it. May I ask if you can elaborate on what I did to fast/early? I'd like to know so as to avoid my mistakes in future fictions. Second, this takes place in AU, think of it as post timeskip however. Think of it as if Naruto had come back, but focused on his training and gone off on various missions, instead of chasing after Sasuke. Also, you commented on Hiashi's ignorance of Naruto being the Kyubi container. This was intentional, trust me. You'll see why in chapter 10. For now, just roll with it. Also, in regards to the chapter 5 comment, remember that chapter 5 was out before that manga chapter, so I assumed hair color. For chapter seven, what two lines? The last two lines of the story, or of my endnotes? And finally...bleach? Never heard of an anime like that. I DID read an awesome manga called bleach, but no anime...ok seriously, to my defense, It was about three in the morning when I wrote that and I wasn't thinking straight enough to come up with an original name. Wow, this was long, thanks for the comments!

**Ryu Juini: **So...you're one of THEM. Those who still don't believe...no...must be...tolerant of...different...beliefs! Any way, I know I make way to many mistakes, but please bear with me, I do the best I can. I have a beta now as well, and he helps me out too.

**shikamaru1710: **You've given me the greatest praise I can get. Take a look at my first ever Naruto fic, and you'll see that I did just that. I'm glad to see that it actually seems like I'm developing a relationship.

**Lunarangel's Dark Flame: **For all intents and purposes in this story, Kyubi is a boy. It's also been stated in the manga (don't ask me where, I don't know exactly) That the Kyubi's a boy.

**packardball: **Um...what? Sorry, but I couldn't understand half of your review, and I'm fluent in 1337. Whatever...

**Kagome365: **Your review for chapter seven gains my coveted "Most Original Review" award, and my even MORE coveted "Most lulzy Review" award. You win.

**That's about it...I'll have chapter 10 up in a week or two, see you then!  
**


	11. A Town Divided

Disclaimer: Every night before I sleep, I pray to the one true lord. I call thee, Masashi Kishimoto, the true owner, the prophet of Naruto. I only bask in his greatness, and write my translation of his testaments. I own not one piece of his words, nor do I profit from his enlightenment.

**A/N: Hey hey! Chapter 10 already...I really feel like I'm getting much better feedback than ever before, thanks for all the encouragement. I promise that the relationship between these two is about to build to new and greater hights, The catalyst for that being in this chapter. **

**Also, here is the result of the vote I put to you all in my notice. By popular majority, I have decided to NOT ALTER the names and appearances of Naruto's parents. So henceforth...**

**Yondaime will be referred to as "Arashi Uzumaki"**

**Kusahina will be referred to as "Suzu Uzumaki"**

**That is all. Now, go enjoy chapter 10! **

**P.S, apologies to my beta. I wanted to get this out ASAP once I finished it (5 minutes ago,) and didn't have the time to send it off. Therefor, this may be riddled with errors. I apologize in advance.  
**

Chapter 10: A Town Divided, Hinata's Dilemma

"Gah-!"

"Give me, a name!"

Even in the darkness, the faint glint of metal, shining in the dim torch light, felt cool pressed against Otokai's neck. He would have answered, but his rapid breathing had long ago taken speech out of his control.

"I don't understand...why you wish to protect them. At the cost of your own life? If you won't give me a name...then..."

"Uzumaki!"

The silver knife, on the verge of drinking its first blood, halted. However it did not withdraw from its target, tracing the flesh just close enough not to cut.

"Uzumaki...and Hyuga! Go to...the Atonmariatsu district...there..."

Otokai paled as realization hit. He had betrayed them...just to save his cowardly life. Pathetic.

"Uzumaki...and a Hyuga...I must be cautious. Study...yes, study is necessary. You have served your purpose well...however."

The silver blade touched to its victim's neck, moving slowly to the side.

"Only trash would desert their commrads. Trash...must be eliminated."

"W-Wait, what do you-!"

A quick sound, a clink of metal on bone, and then silence.

XxXxX

As the midday sun began its decent, the pair of Konoha shinobi turned the corner of their current path, weaving around various ditches and continuing on at a slow, but steady, pace. Within a few minutes, Naruto halted, running ahead to a tree branch for a second.

"Hey...I think I see the town!"

Hinata looked up sharply to Naruto, wincing at the pain in her head. Shaking it off, Hinata walked over to the tree, summoning her strength to hop onto the tree branch.

"Ah! Y-Yes, I see it N-Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked over to the pale Hyuga, his eyes drooping slightly at the sight of her holding her side.

"Hinata...you shouldn't be doing stuff like jumping while you're healing."

Hinata looked away, her face tinging red.

"B-But...I don't want t-to be useless..."

Naruto sighed, standing up fully, offering Hinata his hand.

"You're not useless Hinata. If you can't jump you can't jump, hell I offered to carry you didn't I?"

Hinata turned beet red, averting her gaze as she accepted Naruto's hand. As appealing as it sounded, Hinata was ready to faint at the _prospect _of Naruto carrying her, let alone him actually _doing it..._

Naruto lifted Hinata to her feet, bracing her as they landed back on the path below. Once Hinata had her balance, the two continued onward.

"Ha ha! Look, there it is!!"

Hinata could now indeed see the town gates from her position on the path. She gave a laugh at Naruto's outburst, once again shrugging of an inkling of pain.

Hinata was rather frustrated. Even though she had seemed to make a miracle recovery (Hinata still remembered the dream, where Naruto had been responsible for her recovery, but she knew it was only a dream), she was still rather weak.

She could walk, run for short bursts, and use weapons. Other than that, Hinata had lost the ability to do any fighting for the time being. Even activating her Byakugan caused her to come under the attack of massive migraines.

Hinata felt useless, and the prospect of being useless, especially around Naruto, scared Hinata to death. She prayed that she would get better soon.

As the pair approached the gate, Hinata noticed that there were more guards there than when she had first seen the gate from the tree. Moreover, they all had steely stares and raised weapons...aimed in their direction.

Naruto seemed to have noticed this development as well. When the pair approached the gates, Naruto put his arm in front of Hinata, as if so he could move to shield her at a moments notice.

The nearest guard paled as they reached the gates, holding his spear aimed at Naruto's head, eyes wild.

"W-Who are you!? Bandits!? Highwaymen!? Or are you a traveling merchant? Let me tell you, the last guy who tried to pull that one got a spear in his chest, so don't try anything-!"

Naruto backed away a few steps, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture.

"Woah! D-Don't worry, we're Konoha shinobi. You hired us to help defend the place."

The guard gave a laugh, holding his spear closer to Naruto.

"Oh yeah, Konoha shinobi..right. The shinobi we hired were supposed to be here three days ago, they're dead! Killed, by the brigands!"

Naruto clenched his fist, breaking the guard's spear in two. Naruto pointed to his headband with a new fury. He wasn't some lousy traveler who'd get killed by some stupid brigands.

"What did you say, you bastard!! No way we'd get killed by a bunch of stupid brigands! I slaughtered a whole group of em', so don't go underestimating me! Besides, what do you think this is for, decoration!? Now let us in!"

The guard took an involuntary step or two back, glancing at his broken weapon. He gulped, leveling the now useless stick at Naruto.

"I-It could be a disguise! We don't ever get travelers...none cept' the brigands! You can't...you can't be shinobi!"

"Settle down Kazumaru, don't jump at the poor boy's throat. He's a shinobi all right."

Naruto glanced over towards the gates, a middle aged man with an eye patch and a scar across his left cheek and down his neck greeting him. The man had short, wavy brown hair, a hard gaze lined in his green eyes, and an amused smile curling the sides of his lips.

The man was adorned in a simpler vest, much like a chunnin's but with no pockets or symbol, and what looked like thick leather clothing. He moved towards Naruto, extending his also scarred hand towards him in a gesture of peace. Naruto took the hand, abite with hesitation.

"I'm Hotsu-taicho. I lead the guards here, as well as act as the village head. Sorry for the trouble, the guards are a bit jumpy with the recent upsurge of bandit attacks."

Naruto nodded. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Hotsu gave a nod, letting go of Naruto's hand. "Ah, this must be your partner."

Hotsu moved his gaze to Hinata, his smile spreading as his eyes fixed on her form. Hotsu extended his hand once more, and Hinata took it shyly.

"And you would be?"

"H-Hinata Hyuga. P-Pleased to meet you..."

"I'm glad to see you both made it in one piece. We really do need the help. The guard used to take care of the bandits that would come then and again, but now...come, I'll fill you in on the way to your residence."

The guards stationed nearest to the gates gave a cry and, with the sound of a sputter, the stone gates slowly inched open, allowing Hotsu in, Naruto and Hinata trailing behind.

As the three walked the streets of the small town, Hotsu turned to walk backwards, facing towards the shinobi.

"About a month ago, the bandit's in this area stepped up their game. Sure, they would attack now and again, but suddenly they would attack almost every night, and with much greater numbers and better organization."

Hotsu nodded to the extensive damage to the walls, most of which was currently being repaired with speed.

"The only explanation was that somebody must have started manipulating them. We did some investigating, and found that they have a base in the mountains. Recently a new bandit took it over, starting this mess. We hired you to defend this town, as well as draw out the leader, and kill him."

Naruto stretched, turning to look Hotsu in the eye.

"Well if you know where he is, than why not just lead an assault to get him? Hell, we'll go do it ourselves if you need us to.."

"No...normally that would be the best option, but not now. The base is heavily fortified, hundreds of bandits are stationed there. Also, even if we tried to take it, we've had reports or another shinobi there, manipulating the leader. He was reported to be incredibly strong...and insightful. He immediately picked out the agents we hired and slaughtered all but one."

Hinata gave a small gasp, Naruto just shrugged.

"Meh, well if he's that good, I guess we should stick it out for a bit. You just want us to pose as guard, right?"

"Exactly, simply take on the role of guards. If you can turn the tide of battle in out favor a few times, I'm sure it will draw out the leader."

Naruto gave a thumbs up.

"Alright! Leave this one to us, no bandits are taking us down! Right Hinata?"

Hinata, who had not been expecting being addressed, jerked her head towards Naruto, turning slightly red as she gave a shy nod. If Naruto had been looking, he would have seen Hotsu's lips turn in a slight smile.

"Very well, then we're all set, come by the central guard station at 5 PM, we'll get started then. You're free to use any of the facilities in the village, and we'll supply you with local currency as soon as...ah, here's where you'll be staying."

Hotsu nodded in the direction of the street they had almost passed by. It was a simple stone road with modest houses lined up neatly along its sides.

"Ah yes...this brings me to a certain...roadblock."

Naruto cocked his head in confusion.

"Tell me...can you to act professionally in a compromising situation?"

Naruto shrugged, "I don't see why not," but Hinata was starting to get afraid. What was this man implying?

"Well...we thought that they would be sending somebody older, and there was also the issue with lack of money and well..."

Hotsu gave a cough, looking away before finishing his statement.

"You'll be living in the same house."

XxXxX

Hiashi paced down the hall of the Hokage building, his face set in cold stone. His agents had discovered something not to his liking...oh yes, the Hokage was in for it now.

Hiashi stopped his stride a few inches from the door to the Godaime's office, taking a deep breath before knocking rather crisply.

Hiashi was greeted with a hesitant "Come in." Good, she knew it was him, and he could get this over with ASAP.

Striding into the office, Hiashi sat himself down without the slightest hint of invitation. Before Tsunade could even ask what his business was, he pulled out a small folder, planting it firmly on her desk.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Uzumaki. That name, it was like a barb in my mind. I couldn't place it, and now that I know, I can't believe I didn't see it. Yondaime's son, that container. You sent my daughter on a mission with a demon."

Tsunade clenched a fist, making sure it was in full view of Hiashi, who didn't even flinch.

"Now you listen here, Naruto Uzumaki is a great Ninja, and the perfect choice to send with your daughter."

Hiashi shook his head.

"I never doubted his skills, I doubt his control."

Tsunade gave a start.

"You think the Kyubi is going to come out and attack your daughter or something?"

Hiashi gave a grimace.

"No...I'm thinking worse than attack."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, digging into her drawer.

"Well, if you've come to ask for me to revoke the mission, then your out of lu--"

"No, that isn't it." Hiashi cut of Tsunade suddenly. "I didn't come to tell you to cut it off. I came to tell you that I'M cutting it off."

Tsunade gave a double take.

"I beg your pardon?"

Hiashi gave a smug smile.

"I have dispatched a few men to retrieve Hinata. They will be back with her by the end of tomorrow. I only came to inform you that you may wish to assign somebody else to meet with Naruto, because it won't be my daughter. Good day."

Tsunade stared wide eyed as Hiashi got up and coolly walked out of the room, her grip slipping on the bottle of head-ache pills. Standing up slowly, Tsunade raised her fist into the air, ready to bring it down on-!

"Tsunade-sama don't! That's the last desk, if you break it you'll have to wait a week for the next shipment!"

Tsunade shot a glare at Shinzune, letting her fist tremble in air. It was worth it, SO worth it...damn.

Tsunade gave a grumble, falling back down into her chair.

"That man REALLY pisses me off. I swear, next time he even...bastard. I'm going to dock his clan's funds, oh you can be sure of that..."

"Um...Tsunade-sama...what will we do about Hinata's replacement?"

Tsunade gave a smug smile.

"We're not sending anybody."

"Wha-!"

"The Naruto I know won't let his teammates go, no way in hell."

"B-But Tsunade-sama...it might not be best to anger Hia-"

"Yes yes, clan politics and all that. Well it isn't my fault is it? It's Naruto's..."

Shinzune sighed. There was going to be hell to pay...

XxXxX

"...Ok..."

Naruto gave a shrug, as if he really didn't see the problem with the proposition.

"I don't get it, what's the big deal? We sleep and eat in the same tent during the mission anyway..."

Hinata hadn't said a word. She was...dear god, she was trying to keep hold on her consciousness. Her face was beyond red, now in the spectrum of a whole new color, one that should be named "Hinata Blush."

Why did all these things have to happen to her? Of course, one side of her, the very, VERY small part that was outgoing was celebrating her victory. Another side was glad that she was just near Naruto-kun, and the other, shy part was screaming in terror. Sharing a tent had been terrifying enough, but living in the same house!?

Hotsu looked worriedly over at Hinata, her new skin color not missing his eye.

"Um...I didn't think that..."

Naruto turned and, seeing Hinata's state, placed his hand to her forehead.

"Are you ok Hinata!?"

No...it was too much. Not only the stress of living with him...but now he was touching her too...Hinata felt as if she were in heaven and hell at the same time.

Then she passed out.

Naruto sighed, picking up Hinata's form in his arms and turning to Hotsu.

"Which was was our house again?"

Hotsu gave a double take, his expression hinting that he wanted to say something, but refrained. He gave a shaky nod, pointing down the street.

"Yes...right this way..."

**A/N: Hey guys, long time no see[Nimbly dodges various projectiles and derbies, catching an arrow or two in the process. Hah, I've been training my dodging skills for that one!**

**So, sorry about the short chapter, and the lack of updates. I have a very long, drawn out domestic excuse you guys don't want to hear, so I'll give you the short version. Shit happened, and I didn't have time to update.**

**So then, I promise to update in a week or two. I won't do this one month Hiatus thing again, I promise.**


	12. First Strike

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto. If I had the chance too, I think I would take bleach instead, I'm liking that better...anyway, still don't own this yet. Also, no profit is made in part of this fic, I never did it for the money.

**A/N: Alright, chapter 11. Took me a bit longer than I wanted to get this done, but what can you do? So now, I believe it's time to get this story moving once again. More action, less walking and talking.**

Also, give thanks to Narai Moroha, who's knowledge of the Japanese language has enriched the context of my story. Thanks alot dude!

Chapter 11: First Strike

"Gah!"

With a loud crash, yet another white clothed shinobi slammed into the dirt below. He gave a terse cry, supporting himself on his elbows, white eyes directed at their attacker.

"N-Neji-sama...why are you-!"

The attacker in question turned on the spot, delivering another fierce strike to the mid chest. The man coughed, blood splattering his white robes.

"Dammit...what do you want?"

Neji turned, the only one still standing had dropped his stance. He was wide open, one strike would end it. But he had something to ask first.

"What is your business with Hinata-sama? Why had uncle sent you?"

The last messenger hesitated, but only for a moment. The consequences of non-cooperation were clear.

"O-Ok, here...take this.."

Neji walked forward, snatching the scroll from the shaky grip of the man. Neji flipped it open, eyes scanning over the contents.

"I see...I'll go in your place, and assess the situation. I know Hinata better than anybody, even uncle. I'll tell weather or not she needs to be brought back. Till then..."

Neji did a flip, landing behind the messenger. Before he could even yelp in surprise, Neji hit him in the small of the back, dropping him instantly.

With not so much as a blink, Neji turned down the road towards his new destination, moving with a deliberate pace.

"What are you thinking Hinata? How could you take this mission, knowing full well how Hiashi-sama would react...?"

XxXxX

"Ahh...man is this boring..."

Naruto stood, leaning against the stone gate beside him, a bulky set of armor adorning his features and a cumbersome spear resting in his arm. His eyes lazily scanned over the forest before him, detecting nothing but a few rodents.

Naruto had taken up his shift at 8 PM. True, he was often taught in the academy that non-shinobi towns often had flawed defenses, but he didn't know just how flawed until he had taken up duty himself. And honestly, it was driving him crazy.

First off, the armor restricted movement, and the spears served no practical purpose. Swords are good for close range, and a throwing knife will hit a target at far.

Second, the town was surrounded by a swampy forest. It wasn't as lush as in Konoha, but it was still perfect for an ambush. There should be border scouts, but alas, none.

Finally, for all the complaining about attacks, the town didn't employ many guards. Five on each of the four sections of wall, ten at each gate. So in total, 40 guards. How these people had survived for so long, Naruto had no clue.

A crisp snapping sound woke Naruto from his internal rants, eyes scanning the forest.

Nothing, not that he could see anyway.

"Dammit, wish Hinata was here, I could use her help."

Perhaps due to her weaker than normal health, Hinata had still not awoken from her earlier fainting spell. Naruto had convinced the Guard that she would be on duty the next night, but Naruto wasn't so sure if it was good for her to be fighting.

"I really, really don't want to get Hinata hurt. I know that it's not her fault she got hurt, but I can tell, she's blaming herself. Why does she always have to blame herself...like I used to.

"_I think one day, he just got sick of crying, of blaming himself. So he simply stopped."_

_**Many Years Ago**_

"_And stay away from my ramen stand you little demon!"_

_The old man shoved the five year old boy out into the rain, walking back through the flaps with a firm huff. Naruto stood up, eyes beginning to well up._

"_Why...why does everybody...gah!"_

_Naruto broke down, falling to his knees and sobbing with intensity._

_He had been doing it a lot these days. Crying that is. Everybody hated him, everybody. He didn't know what, but he knew they hated him for something he did, or was. It was his fault, all of it._

_He knew he could only blame himself, but it still hurt all the same..._

_Naruto raised a fist, slamming it into the ground, his tears mingling with the pouring rain from the sky._

"_Why!! What have I done!?! How can I fix it!? WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO!?!!"_

_Naruto shouted till his throat burned, then he fully collapsed, falling onto his stomach._

"_It's not fair...what have I..."_

_Naruto let his head fall, blank eyes staring at nothing. He could die for all he cared. What would it matter anyhow?_

"_Um...are you ok?"_

_With no particular cause, Naruto raised his glance, his eyes meeting with a small figure, safe under an umbrella. _

_'So that's why the water stopped...'_

_It was a girl. She was clad in an intricate pink kimono, a contrast to her pale skin, and her short, black hair._

"_Who...no, just go away."_

_The girl did the opposite, squatting down to shelter more of his face with the umbrella._

"_W-Why are you lying out here? Y-You m-might catch a...a cold..."_

_Naruto answered the question with no particular interest._

"_Who cares. Nobody cares about me...they just want me to die. I'm just doing them a favor."_

"_B-But somebody has t-to care about you! I mean...your parents-"_

"_MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!!"_

_The girl recoiled a few feet, and Naruto felt his face begin to be crushed by the cold rain once more._

_But just as fast, the umbrella was replaced, and the girl was above him once more._

"_S-So-Somebody m-must c-care about you..."_

_Naruto shook his head against the cold street._

"_Nobody. Not a soul. I could just drop dead for all they care..."_

"_T-Then I care!"_

_Naruto widened his eyes, eyes moving to the girl above him. Her face held a defiant look underneath a blush._

"_I-If nobody else will care about you...then...t-then I will! T-That way...you know t-that at least one person...will be s-sad if you die..."_

"_No..."_

_Naruto returned a blank look, head falling again._

"_No...I have no right to have somebody care about me. It's my fault they all hate me...and so I have no right..."_

"_D-Don't blame yourself! I-If o-others d-d-don't respect you t-then...then it's their own fault!"_

_Naruto deadpanned._

"_W-What?"_

_Never, not once in his entire life, had it dawned on him that it wasn't his fault. All the hate, the scorn, the killing auras, never once had it crossed his mind that he could not have been to blame for these feelings. Yet..._

"_It's not...my fault?"_

_The girl shook her head._

"_Not at all. S-So please...t-take this and..."_

_The girl bent down lower handing a few hundred yen to Naruto._

"_T-Take that a-and eat s-something warm. My dad won't let me h-have p-people over but...b-but please, take care of yourself."_

_The girl stood up, as did Naruto. Before he could say a single word, The girl handed him her umbrella, dashing away so fast afterwards that a small silver locket flew out from her Kimono._

"_P-Please, don't die!"_

_And just like that she was gone. Naruto stood there, umbrella covering him from the harsh rain, staring into the direction of where the girl had once been. _

_He had recognized the locket, as well as those eyes. She was the girl from before, and once again he had neglected to ask her name._

"_Hey daddy! Look! Look! That boy looks cold and hungry, we have to help him!"_

"_Be quiet and get back inside Ayame. That boy is-"_

"_What!? But mommy used to say to always help those in need! How can you not help him!? Daddy!!"_

"_F-Fine...Hey, punk! Get over here! You can have some ramen, so long as you can pay. You hear me!?"_

_Naruto clenched his fists, jerking up his head and scattering the tears from his face. From that point on he made a vow. He would never cry again because of other's hate. He wouldn't give them the pleasure._

"_Yeah I hear ya! I've got the money old man, so start up some ramen!"_

_**Present Time**_

Naruto gave an inward sigh, casting his gaze towards the moon. It wasn't quite full yet, but close, perhaps in two or three more days it would be full.

"I have to cheer Hinata up somehow...I know! I'll take her out to explore the town tomorrow! And then we can train, and maybe get her strength back a bit. I can ask the town doctor as well if they can do anything for her...yeah, that'll cheer her up, I know it will."

"Gah, would you stop ranting about your girlfriend for two minutes? How can I read with all this racket?"

Naruto threw the guard next to him a confused look.

"Girlfriend? The hell you talking about?"

The boy next to him gave a laugh.

"Oh come on. This Hinata person of course! She has to be your girlfriend, you're WAY too concerned about her for her not to be..."

Naruto flushed a bit, averting his gaze. Hinata, his girlfriend? That wasn't, that would never...

"N-No, it's not like that. She's my partner and my close friend."

The man shrugged.

"Don't believe ya. I sure as hell don't have any friends close enough to cause me to pause in thought for that long."

Naruto scowled.

"Gah, listen you bastard! Hinata is not my girlfriend!! Jesus, you're as annoying as Sasuke-teme!"

"And that's your boyfriend? Man, you sure are a player..."

Naruto's face grew red as he clenched his hands around his spear.

"You bastard, don't talk about my friends or me like-! Attack!!"

The guard across wiped the smirk off his face, adopting a confused look.

"Attack?"

Naruto crouched down, ready to spring.

"Yeah, I just saw a figure in the bushes. Too big for a rodent, too fast for anything bigger. It also had a weapon. Go alert the other gates, call up a full alert. GO!!"

The annoying guard nodded, running down the length of the wall. Naruto looked down to address the gate guards.

"You guys catch that?"

The guard closest nodded.

"Yeah! We're closing and fortifying the gate. Get inside!"

Naruto shook his head, jumping down outside the walls, cracking his knuckles with a smile.

"Oh no...I've got a job to do."

Naruto held his gaze, scanning the trees before him. He could see many figures, most en massing at one of two points. Before both gates. Typical bandit strategy, go for the most fortified spots. Idiots.

As Naruto began to plan, he heard a thump beside him, and he allowed for a quick glance. There, standing beside him, was the guard that had been teasing him about Hinata.

"W-What are you doing here?"

"I alerted the guard. They'll go to full alert in a few minutes, but it'll be too late by then, won't it?"

"Not that! What are you doing outside the walls?!"

The boy gave a small smile.

"Fighting. After all, I am the answer to your question."

Naruto returned with a blank stare.

"Wha?"

"I'm sure you were wondering how this town has survived for so long. It's because of my skills."

The boy threw down the spear, unsheathing a sword.

"I learned from a Sword-Master in Iwa. I lost count of how many bandits I've slain. So don't worry, I can hold my own against Shinobi."

Just then, an arrow whizzed past Naruto's head, missing by an inch. A shout was heard, and then a dozen more arrows, followed by a few hundred bandits emerged from the forest. Naruto put on a smile.

"Alright then, let's see if your skills match your mouth."

The boy's smile widened to a smirk.

"Get ready, you're about to be blown away."

Naruto matched the smirk.

"I'm counting on it."

It was the beginning of a powerful friendship.

XxXxX

Hiashi sat calmly in the courtyard, sipping his prize tea with Hanabi as he heard her recount her day. Just as he was about to comment on one of the antics of Konohamaru, a servant arrived in the courtyard, kneeling before Hiashi, who turned his head lazily.

"What is it?"

The man bowed lower.

"Hyuuga-sama, the men you sent after Hinata-sama have returned, severely wounded. The healthiest among them wishes to speak with you."

Hiashi gave a flash of annoyance, allowing it to pass before he turned to his daughter.

"I'll be back in a moment, Hanabi."

"Yes, father."

Hiashi rose, following the servant to the main room.

All the while his mind was filled with questions. Why had they failed? Why so early as to be the same day as have being sent out? Who had hurt them, the Uzumaki? And why had they not simply fled, but returned?

As Hiashi entered the room, he saw what "Most health" meant. The man was drawn and pale, perspiration running down his face. The results of nerve damage, easily carried out by an experienced gentle fist user...

"Well then, care to explain why you have shamed yourself further by returning?"

The wounded man bowed, wincing in pain as a result.

"I apologize Hyuuga-sama, but it is urgent. I must deliver a message to you!"

Despite himself, Hiashi was curious, "What message?"

The man gave another low bow.

"Neji-sama, heir to the Branch family, was the one to incapacitate us, and told me to inform Hyuuga-sama that he will assess the situation and, if necessary, take Hinata back with him."

Several emotions, anger, pride, and concern among them, bubbled to the surface of Hiashi's mind, but he kept a static face despite.

"Very well. Leave my sight and never show yourself again. You and your squad are exiled from the Hyuuga for your disgraceful failure."

"H-hai, Hyuuga-sama!"

Hiashi left the room, giving a sigh just as the door closed.

"Neji...what are you thinking? You have told me that nothing matters to you more than the well being of Hinata...and yet you defend the Uzumaki boy? For her best interests, we must separate her from that boy..."

"Oneechan wouldn't like that very much..."

Hiashi looked down, only to see his daughter standing beside him.

"And why is that?"

Hanabi gave a giggle.

"Because she has a HUGE crush on him! She's almost sick about herself with affection over the boy. If you read a paragraph of Hinata's diary, you'd know."

Hiashi deadpanned, this news taking time to fully process.

Hinata was...IN LOVE with the boy!? Things were much more serious than he had believed...

XxXxX

Hinata was, for the most part, completely out of it. And that's the way she would have stayed, had a giant explosion not suddenly rocked the very bed she was sleeping on.

Hinata flew upwards, the pain in her ribs sending her right back down. She cursed silently, struggling to stand. When she finally had, Hinata moved to the door, ready to greet whatever was on the other side.

What was there happened to be fleeing villagers, fire, and the sounds of battle. Hinata gasped, but her heart calmed when she saw that few bandits had breached the walls. One one small section had been blown apart, and there were two figures that were holding the flood of incoming bandits at bay. And one of them was...

"Naruto-kun!!

Hinata summoned her strength, taking off towards the breached gate.

XxXxX

Naruto threw his weight behind the ax he had just picked up, hurling it at another bandit, downing him as the blade entered his temple. Beside him, the boy cut down yet another bandit. For a non-shinobi, he had great skills.

"Gah! Die, you bastard!"

Naruto turned, slicing the man across the neck with his Kunai. Naruto had, originally, been trying to spare the lives of as many as possible. He halted this after several injuries, and a few bandits trying to attack him once again.

Now, he was simply cutting down one life after another. Perhaps that was better, it would strike more fear.

"Hey, these guys are getting on my nerves, coming one after another like rabbits. Don't ya got any bitch-ass ninja moves to down a bunch of 'em?"

Naruto cut another man across the face, a grin growing on his lips.

"Yeah, I have one."

Dropping his knife, Naruto gathered his chakra, making rapid hand-seals.

"Wind style, Cyclone of Rengoku no Jutsu!"

From his fingertips, Naruto sent a concentrated tornado, aimed at the incoming bandits. If anybody came into contact with the beam of wind, it would slice them to pieces, as well as increase the size of the cyclone. Naruto watched as his jutsu carved through almost all the bandits in his sight, no doubt cutting through the rear lines as well.

The survivors looked on in panic, eyes shifting as if not sure what to do. Then, in a moment of revelation, the bandits understood that, if they stayed, each one of them was dead. And so the remaining brigands dropped their weapons, running back towards the forest.

Naruto gave a sigh of relief, while the sword wielder let out a whistle.

"Not bad, that was quite a few baddies you downed...what's your name by the way? I'm Ranken, Ranken Kucouts."

Naruto laughed, taking the hand Ranken had extended.

"Uzumaki Naruto, and thanks. You're pretty good with that sword, not many non-shinobi can fight like that."

Ranken gave a nod.

"Yeah, I'm one of the few to graduate from my sensei's academy."

"Heh, that so..."

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned, looking back towards town. A few villagers, as well as a guard and Hinata were running towards the pair.

"Naruto-kun! A-Are you ok? Y-You're not hurt...are you?"

Naruto shook his head but the blood that dripped down his head told otherwise. Hinata gasped, running forward.

"N-Naruto-kun...I'm sorry, I couldn't even...even h-help you."

Naruto shook his head.

"It's not your fault Hinata. Really, I got hurt for being an idiot and trying to spare the bastards...are you feeling better?"

Hinata nodded.

"Y-Yes...but for now...w-we need t-to get you t-to the d-d-doctor..."

Ranken walked past towards the guard, whispering in Naruto's ear as he passed.

"Girlfriend..."

Naruto blushed again, leaving Hinata confused.

"N-Naruto?"

"Nothing! L-Lets head to the doctor's place."

And so Naruto left, dragging a confused Hinata behind him.

**And that's it! So, remember how I said I wasn't going to do another 1 month hiatus thing? Yeah...sorry bout that. I got project after project piled on me, and little time to write. I just finished all my work, and typed this ENTIRE chapter, save a few paragraphs at the beginning, in a single night. **

**Anyway, I'll try to update quicker next time. Till next time! Thanks for all the reviews!**


	13. A MESSAGE TO ALL READERS 2

I'm sorry! Really really, really sorry! NO, this is not the next chapter, but I feel I owe you guys an explanation, so here we go.

I'm very sorry for taking so long to update, it was not my intent to do such a thing. First school came up, then during christmas, when school died down, suddenly I got promoted. This is good, but even so I'm suddenly in work atleast 6 out of 7 days.

Yes, I know I've written a Bleach fic, as well as started a HSnY one, and this is why. I finally got some time, and I had to do some other works first, as they were half complete.

So what does that mean for this fic?

Between January 5th to Febuary 1st, there will be three updates, three new chapters. I can't tell you exactly when, but know that they ARE comming. After that I'll try to get back on my desired One chapter every 2 weeks.

Sorry about all of this, and thanks to all of those who have been constantly reviewing and reminding me that I need to update. Glad to see that people care about the FF. Hope you all had a great holiday season.

Kazukagi


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